Butterfly weed seeds are easy and fun to collect and save to plant in your garden next year.
In this post, I will show how to harvest butterfly weed seeds step-by-step, and also give you tips for how to store them for next year.
Collecting butterfly weed seeds is simple, and doesn’t take much effort – you just need to get the timing right.
So below I’ll show you how to tell when butterfly weed seeds are ready to harvest, how to gather them, and what to do with them after you’re done collecting them.
Related Post: How To Care For Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Harvesting Butterfly Weed Seeds
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is also one of the easiest seeds to collect from the garden. After the flowers fade on the plant, butterfly weed gets these gorgeous seed pods.
If you want to collect butterfly weed seeds from your garden, allow the seed pods to dry on the plant.
When To Harvest Butterfly Weed Seeds
When the seeds are ready to be harvested, butterfly weed seed pods will turn brown and start to break open on their own.
The seeds have puffs of cotton attached to them, which allows them to fly in the wind and seed themselves all around the neighborhood.
So, make sure you collect the seeds as soon as the pods start to break open, or they may disappear on you.
What Do Butterfly Weed Seeds Look Like
Butterfly weed seeds are flat, brown and shaped like a tear drop – and there are a ton of seeds in each seed pod.
Like I mentioned above, they are attached to white cotton, which can make the task of harvesting butterfly weed seeds a bit more tedious.
How To Harvest Butterfly Weed Seeds Step-By-Step
Clip the seed pods off the plant and drop them into a container or bag. Don’t attempt to harvest butterfly weed seeds outside.
Otherwise every time the wind blows you’ll be chasing them down the street. Once you’ve collected the seed pods, bring them inside.
Like I said, it can be a bit tedious to harvest butterfly weed seeds, because of the fine fluffy stuff that’s attached to the seeds. So start by breaking open the seed pod.
Then firmly grab the entire fuzzy clump and pull it out of the seed pod. Wait, don’t let go.
Gently pinch the seeds to tease them away from the fluffy stuff. It can be a messy job, so you might want to keep the vacuum on hand.
What To Do With Butterfly Weed Seeds After Harvesting
You could plant your butterfly weeds seeds as soon as you harvest them, or you can save them for next year. Allow them to dry out completely before storing your seeds.
You can keep them in a plastic container (film canisters are the perfect size!), paper bag or small envelope until spring.
To share with friends, you can order customized seed packets or try making your own seed envelopes. I like to use a plastic shoe box to organize mine, or you can use a Seed Keeper.
Where To Find Butterfly Weed Seeds For Sale
It can be difficult to find butterfly weed seeds for sale, but many garden centers should carry them starting in mid-winter through early spring.
Otherwise you can always buy some online. Here are some great quality ones to get you started.
If you want to learn how to grow your own seeds for your garden indoors, then my Starting Seeds Indoors eBook is perfect for you! It’s a quick-start guide that will have you growing your own seeds indoors in no time. Download your copy now!
More Posts About Saving Seeds
- How To Collect Lavender Seeds From Your Garden
- How to Collect Castor Bean Seeds From The Garden
- How To Harvest Chive Seeds & Save Them
- Collecting and Sowing Spider Plant Seeds
Share your tips for how to harvest butterfly weed seeds in the comments section below.
Pam says
A friend gave us butterfly weed pods before they turned brown. What should I do? Thank you!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You can try letting the pods sit out to see if they will turn brown and dry. However, if your butterfly weed seed pods are very green and immature, the seeds likely won’t be viable, and will probably only mold.
Lynda Wright says
We have the milkweed bugs. Will they damage the plant for next spring? There are tons of them. Is there a way to get rid of them?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Milkweed bugs do very little damage to the plant, and are more of a nuisance, so it’s usually best to just leave them along. However, you can spot-treat large infestations with soapy water or a by hand-picking, and use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to kill and remove the babies and eggs. But be very, very careful to only target the pest insect, because any type of treatment, organic or otherwise, can also kill monarchs and their eggs/larvae.