Green Grass Grove
Connecting specimen records, habitat data, and the living archive.
Milkweed / Hairy Balls
Gomphocarpus physocarpusMilkweed / Hairy Balls is maintained at Green Grass Grove as upright nonnative milkweed relative. The record is anchored to Gomphocarpus physocarpus and is managed in contained annual pollinator bed. North Florida heat, humidity, sandy soils, storm rainfall, and occasional freezes are addressed through crop-specific placement and protection. Scouting, photographs, accession notes, and survival records should be attached to the exact plant or seed lot…
Botanical Overview
Milkweed / Hairy Balls is maintained at Green Grass Grove as upright nonnative milkweed relative. The record is anchored to Gomphocarpus physocarpus and is managed in contained annual pollinator bed. North Florida heat, humidity, sandy soils, storm rainfall, and occasional freezes are addressed through crop-specific placement and protection. Scouting, photographs, accession notes, and survival records should be attached to the exact plant or seed lot rather than generalized across the catalog. toxic sap and seed escape require control; not a substitute for native milkweeds.
Why We Feature This Specimen
Milkweed / Hairy Balls gives Green Grass Grove a focused living record for contained annual pollinator bed, with climate response, propagation, scouting, safety, and specimen history tracked together.
Climate & Protection
Cold protection trigger: Begin cold protection below 45 °F. The cold-damage threshold is the lower temperature where injury becomes likely, not the recommended waiting point.
Sun / Light: Full sun to partial shade according to the habitat and heat response described in this profile.
Manage according to North Florida seasonality. toxic sap and seed escape require control; not a substitute for native milkweeds.
Planting & Seasonal Guide
Starting & Germination Methods
Seed Sowing
Seed sowing is the umbrella operational method for placing botanical seed into a germination environment. It includes selection of containers or beds, medium, depth, spacing, moisture, temperature, light,…
Open Full Method ↗Indoor Seed Starting
Indoor seed starting produces transplants in containers under managed temperature, light, moisture, sanitation, and spacing before outdoor or greenhouse establishment. It extends the production season, protects valuable seed,…
Open Full Method ↗Transplant
Transplant is a nursery handling process that moves an established seedling, rooted cutting, division, grafted plant, or tissue-culture plantlet from one container or site to another. It is…
Open Full Method ↗Plant or move outdoors when conditions match contained annual pollinator bed and the accession is not exposed to avoidable cold or heat shock.
Establish during the season appropriate to contained annual pollinator bed, with freeze, heat, and hurricane timing considered.
Spacing: Allow the mature width and necessary airflow; adjust nursery spacing as the specimen grows.
Planting Depth: Set transplants at the original crown or root-flare depth; sow seed only to species-appropriate depth.
Pollination: Insect pollinated.
Water, Soil & Nutrition
💧 Water & Moisture
Provide moderate moisture in well-drained soil and avoid chronic saturation. Established plants tolerate some drying, but container roots should not be allowed to desiccate completely.
Consistent moisture appropriate to the crop, with drainage or aquatic containment as specified.
Provide airflow and dry foliage promptly after irrigation or rain; protected specimens require regular pest scouting.
🌱 Soil & Growing Media
Preferred pH: 5.50 to 7.50
↘ Drainage & Root-Zone Behavior
✦ Nutrition & Deficiency Checks
Use minimal fertility. Rich soil and high nitrogen produce excessive weak growth and seed output; do not fertilize natural-area margins.
Diagnose pH, roots, water status, and tissue pattern before fertilizing; environmental injury can mimic deficiency.
Growth, Maintenance & Harvest
Maintenance & Pruning
Remove dead, diseased, storm-damaged, or intentionally harvested growth with sanitized tools; preserve the natural form and accession identity.
Harvest or Observation
No edible use. Harvest only clean, correctly identified, legally permitted material and retain accession records.
Storage & Preservation
Maintain labeled seed, propagules, or a living backup according to the species; prevent moisture damage, contamination, and unauthorized distribution.
Harvestable Plant Parts & Uses
No edible use. Keep harvest identity, treatment history, and storage records attached.
Propagation, Cloning & Tissue Culture
Propagation Methods
Seed Sowing
Seed sowing is the umbrella operational method for placing botanical seed into a germination environment. It includes selection of containers or beds, medium, depth, spacing, moisture, temperature, light,…
Open Full Method ↗Seed
Seed is retained as an umbrella propagation identity for sexual reproduction through mature botanical seed. A seed normally contains an embryo, stored reserves or nutritive tissue, and protective…
Open Full Method ↗Aquaponics, Hydroponics & Aeroponics
Aquaponics
Use only in contained systems when food safety, root oxygen, toxicology, and nutrient loading are compatible.
Hydroponics
Use only where the crop's root form and safety allow; unsupported universal nutrient recipes are omitted.
Aeroponics
No profile-specific operating notes have been recorded.
Pests, Diseases, Safety & Toxicology
Scout for aphids, milkweed bugs, mites, whiteflies, caterpillars, and snails while preserving monarch larvae and beneficial insects.
Monitor for rusts, leaf spots, crown rot, and decline associated with crowding or waterlogging. Sanitize tools between milkweed plantings.
Keep Hairy Balls Milkweed in a contained, labeled nonnative planting, deadhead before wind-dispersed seed escapes, prevent movement into natural areas, and separate monarch-support decisions from native-milkweed conservation goals.
Toxic sap and seed escape require control; not a substitute for native milkweeds. Additional risks include poor identification, incorrect irrigation, weak airflow, and loss of accession records.
Milky latex and all plant parts contain cardiac-active compounds and are toxic if ingested by people or livestock. Use gloves, restrict access, and do not market as edible or medicinal.
Toxic sap and seed escape require control; not a substitute for native milkweeds. Follow pesticide labels, legal restrictions, and public/private visibility controls.
Specimens & Seed Genetics Connected to This Profile
These public-facing records represent selected physical holdings associated with this organism profile. Private storage, cost, sales, NFC and operational details are never shown here.
MW1710
10.000 seeds