Seeds need to sit in the ground over winter in cold damp conditions before they will sprout. If its late summer or fall then you might as well put the seeds in a pot of soil and dig the pot into the ground. The seeds will get just what they want and sprout in the spring. If it is early in the season you can put the seeds in a plastic bag with a damp piece of paper towel, seal up the bag and let it sit in the refrigerator for about 10 days. Some seeds need more than 10 days. Check on your seeds after a while to see if any have sprouted.1
Soil temperature should be kept higher than 18°C / 64°F to ensure good germination.During WWII the silky part attached to the seeds was used for life jackets.234 Milkweed is more bouyant then cork by 5 or 6 fold.234
Orange Milkweed
2 Native Plant Society of Texas
4 “Your Country’s Armed Services Need Milkweed Floss: How You Can Help” :https://archive.org/stream/YourCountrysArmedServicesNeedMilkweedFlossHowYouCanHelp/YourCountrysArmedServicesNeedMilkweedFlossHowYouCanHelp_djvu.txt