Could be a weed too. I wanted to uproot it but then the buds came along. Wonder whether they will open up to reveal the world's prettiest flowers It appeared out of nowhere in this container bearing dry soil. ( photo / image / picture from oubee's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from oubee's Garden )
Oh, we have oleanders too here. You don't really see the veins as vividly on oleander leaves, do you? And the leaves are paler here. :-?
Is this your plant? Asclepias curassavica (Scarlet Milkweed, Bloodflower) Monarchs have made their way to your area, so maybe you will have them in your garden. If you do, be sure to save the seeds and have more plants for the caterpillars to munch on.
That's the one! OK Toni, once I've read about the how-to of saving the seeds, I will certainly do so!
Several weeks after the blooms have faded, long pods will appear. Milkweed pods growing. ( photo / image / picture from toni's Garden ) You want to watch them and take them off the plant before they completely open and the wind disperses them everywhere. You can either pull the fluffy stuff off or plant them together (that's the way nature does it) Milkweed pods ripe and seeds ( photo / image / picture from toni's Garden )
On my travels about the city as a child, vacant lots were a haven for plants of all types and milkweed was no exception. I subscribed to the old wives tale, that milkweed juice would cure warts. No milkweed plant was safe as I searched for a cure to my three warts. A bonus was opening a ripe pod and releasing the seeds into the wind. Any unattended plot of land was a safe place for milkweeds. I gladly assisted in their propagation if only to advance the search of medical science for a cure of warts. A cure came in 1954. Milkweed? Jerry
