Previously: Garden planning 2021, 4
Next:
- Spider milkweed (asclepias viridis)
- Missouri coneflower (rudbeckia missouriensis)
- Purple coneflower (echinacea purpurea)
- Showy goldenrod (solidago speciosa)
- Whorled milkweed (asclepias verticollata)
- Butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa)
These plants were all selected because they are native species that butterflies like. I also have some others, but these require some cold preparation before planting. Nominally, I might have gotten this strange drive to plant these kinds of things last year, then I could have just thrown them on the ground and let nature cold prepare them. But here we are. I'll try that for next year. (Nominally I might just pass the time like a normal person and find a good TV show.)
Each one has its own predilections for length of time to cold stratify, according to the seed sellers:
- Spider milkweed: 4-6 weeks
- Missouri coneflower: 8-12 weeks
- Purple coneflower: 3-4 weeks
- Showy goldenrod: 3-4 weeks
- Whorled milkweed: 4 weeks
- Butterfly weed: 4 weeks
I'm using this as a general guide: Amanda Shepard. "How To Cold Stratify Seeds For Spring Planting". American Meadows (2018-03-07). I'm going to do some in peat moss and some in paper towels, just to see what happens.
OK—into the refrigerator they go. See some of you in April, some in May.
