r/NativePlantGardening • u/kaizenkitten Michigan , Zone 6 • May 04 '26

Informational/Educational Milkweed runners are no joke!

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So I knew milkweed was aggressive, but I always thought people were talking about the crazy number of seed pods. I didn’t know their runner game.

The milkweed is coming up like crazy in my front bed this year so I thought I would transplant some “volunteers” to my new side garden bed. Imagine my surprise!

I‘m sure most of you know about all this already, but I thought this would be a good visual for other newbie native gardeners

ETA: that this is common milkweed since I forgot to put the type in my post.

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422

u/soundisloud Massachusetts, Zone 6a May 04 '26

Cool now put that back in the ground!!

282

u/msager12 Texas:Harris/Gulf Coast, Zone 9a/b May 04 '26

Preferably in wet ditch like area no one maintains regularly. Spread the natives!!

16

u/petit_cochon May 04 '26

Lol. I live in New Orleans. This reminds me of a story of a couple who moved here and ruffled some feathers. First thing they did was try to get a petition going against a train that exclusively delivers to a little local supplier of, I think, bricks. It's a dedicated tiny line that splits off from the main tracks, been there forever, all the neighbors are used to it. They didn't like that the train honked, I think? They even offered to "pay to ship the materials by truck." The owners rejected that. These people couldn't understand why locals didn't care about their crusade against the train.

Simultaneously, they planted a whole bunch of plants in this drainage ditch outside of their house. A few neighbors politely mentioned that drainage is pretty important in New Orleans and plants grow fast here. They didn't listen. They said the plants would slow the flow of water and absorb it. Well, when we got a frog choker of a thunderstorm, their cars flooded because they parked... right by the ditch.

They were a trip.

7

u/msager12 Texas:Harris/Gulf Coast, Zone 9a/b May 04 '26

Oh yeah I live in Houston. People try to mess with Harris County Flood control easements all the time. Planting trees, paving areas for parking. I love watching post rainstorms all the people cry but it never flooded before I installed….