Hi Ryan! I live in Minnesota and milkweed grows in my garden, well, like a weed. I never planted it, it just appeared one year and has spread everywhere on it's own. It does need cold stratification in order to germinate. I am not certain how cold it gets in Dayton, but you may want to try sowing it outdoors in fall. It seems to prefer full sun and a loose sandy/loamy soil. A friend of mine has clay soil and has tried to grow milkweed a number of times without much success.
I'm pretty new to all this, but I just learned a few months ago about making cordage from milkweed and managed to save some from the garden before it went all moldy from the snow. It turns out to be a messy undertaking to process the stalks for the fiber so I have only done one because I have nowhere to work in winter other than my house. But I did get about a foot of really strong cordage from it. I, too, am interested in seeing if I can get some soft fiber from it, but in my researches it seems I might have more luck with nettle. Still going to try though! I have also learned that the milkweed fluff from the seeds provides better insulation than wool. Next fall I plan on saving all I can of the fluff (along with the stalks) and experiment using it to stuff a lining to make extra warm mittens.
And the butterflies really love it! I get lots of monarch caterpillars and butterflies every year. Harvesting for fiber happens at the end of the season when the plant has gone dormant so it doesn't impact caterpillars or butterflies.
Hope some of this helps! Good luck!
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