42 Nebraskaland • June 2024
intermittent stream. Others have had
success establishing common, showy
and whorled milkweeds from seed.
We collect the milkweed seed from
local wild populations, but milkweed,
as well as other wildfl ower seed,
can be purchased from local and
online seed dealers. Buy seed grown
in Nebraska or nearby, as seed from
plants grown in distant states may
not be suited for our climate and soils.
The demand for milkweed seed has
driven up prices, so buy what you
can aff ord. There are more than 4,000
butterfl y milkweed seeds in an ounce,
so a little goes a long way. Seedling
survival can be increased by reducing
grass competition for several years
after planting using spring, fall or light
summer grazing, or prescribed fi re.
Disking and Tilling
Russ Hamer has been managing
Nebraska Game and Parks wildlife
management areas in northeastern
Nebraska for 24 years. On these areas,
he frequently uses light disking or
tilling from spring through fall to
create early-successional habitat on
grasslands that have been previously
A common milkweed colony on the author's family prairie rapidly expanded the summer following fall glyphosate
spraying of brome and bluegrass.
