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Little River Cooperative

Puffball Milkweed

$10.00 USD
$10.00 USD
Sale Sold out

Puffball Milkweed
Asclepias Physocarpa

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per 6 square feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: beetles
harvest notes: prune for wanted shape
perennial

Balloon plant has earned that name for a unique reason. The seed pods of balloon plant are round balls about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. They are covered with soft bristles, which has also earned them the name of Hairy Balls plant. Most other milkweeds have longer and more slender seed pods. We used to rely on a local butterfly plant nursery for our supply of these plants and they always sold out instantly, because they are such a beautiful and unusual plant to have in the garden, so we were happy to be able to source seeds this season for our own plant production.

This is a larger and taller milkweed than what you may be used to. Expect this plant to get about 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall! Balloon plant milkweed likes full sun and will grow in dry to medium moist (prefers medium moist) soil with good drainage. It will also grow well in large containers. Like all other milkweeds “puffball milkweed” as we affectionately call it, is a host plant for monarch butterflies.

Materials

All of our plants are produced using OMRI certified organic materials (potting mix, fertilizer & pesticides) however our nursery is not certified organic. Plants are shipped in compostable peat moss pots and we use heirloom & organic seeds whenever possible.

Shipping & Returns

We ship plant orders every Monday. Due to the nature of shipping plants we only offer expedited shipping for our live plant orders. Our returns & exchanges policy is also quite strict since its hard to control the quality of a plant once it leaves our facility, however we do our very best to make sure that each and every customer is satisfied with their plants. Read more about our policies here. 

Size

All of our plants are potted in 4" pots and their foliage size varies based on how large the plant is naturally when its root ball is the correct size for the pot. If a plant is too tall for our shipping box we may prune it to fit (bonus: many plants do better after being pruned since they make bushier growth). We do our very best to ship all of our plants in the "sweet spot" of maturity however so long as the roots have colonized the pot we will consider a plant mature enough to ship.

Care Instructions

When you receive your plant its critical to get it out of its box and into the light the day it arrives. It will also want to be removed from its compostable plastic wrapping and given fresh water to drink. Keep in mind, this plant was grown in the tropical humid climate of South Florida, so if it's terribly cold or dry where you are it'll need to be hardened off before planting outdoors. Visit our care instructions page for more thorough info about caring for your new plant friend.

  • What Our Customers Have to Say:

    This is a great, local organization with really knowledgeable & friendly staff. They make gardening easy and accessible, and I've purchased many high quality plants and equipment from them.
    -Kate Black (5 star google review)

  • And Another One:

    How lucky we are to have a resource like Little River Cooperative here in Miami, not only for the access they offer to a great selection of plants and produce, but also for the knowledge they provide and the sense of community they foster!
    -Nick Vagnoni (5 star google review)