Substrate Impacts on Prairie Milkweed (Asclepias Sullivantii) Germination: A Monarch Butterfly Conservation Project

The purpose of our study is to find the most effective substrate for milkweed seed germination. Through this study we are trying to revive the low milkweed plant populations which will in turn increase the also dwindling populations of the Monarch Butterfly. We conducted our research by separating 20 prairie milkweed seeds. We put 10 seeds each in two different Petri dishes. One had a sand substrate and the other a paper towel substrate. Since we used cold moist treatment, we periodically watered these seeds when we came to class. They were also put in a refrigerator to simulate the process of vernalization for 4 weeks. When we analyzed the germination rates of the seeds, we learned that the sand substrate works significantly better as 9 out of the 10 seeds went through on the germinating process. The paper towel substrate on the other hand had only 6 out of the 10 germinate and they were in poor condition. This experiment demonstrated that sand is an effective substrate in the process of germinating Prairie grass milkweed seeds.