Start growing
Extremely easy. Full sun is required. Spreads by deep underground rhizomes.
GROW SOMETHING WONDERFUL
Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Your guide to planting, growing, and getting to know this plant.
THE PLANT NOTEBOOK
Milkweed care, from seed onward.
- Botanical name
- Asclepias syriaca
- Common names
- Common Milkweed
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Asclepias
- Species
- A. syriaca
Growing with your kit
The Seeds In A Cup® kit provides a 'Home Base' for Monarchs—teaching students the critical link between plants and pollinators.
Propagation
By seed (needs cold) or rhizome division.
Seasonal growth & harvest
Essential and exclusive host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars.
Growing conditions
Fields, roadsides, and open sunny areas.
Weather & tolerances
High drought and heat tolerance.
Pests & plant health
Oleander aphids (bright orange).
Plant safety
Sap is toxic if ingested and can be a skin/eye irritant; bitter taste protects caterpillars from birds.
Botanical features
A hardy perennial with large oval leaves and ball-like clusters of fragrant pink-purple flowers.
Varieties
Standard native species.
Garden & everyday uses
Sustain Monarch butterfly populations. seed fluff used for textile insulation during WWII
Native range & distribution
Native to North America, east of the Rockies.
Conservation
Critically important for Monarch butterfly survival; residential planting is strongly encouraged.
Name origins
Named after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing; 'Milkweed' refers to its milky white sap (latex).
History
Milkweed fluff was the primary life-preserver filler for US Navy sailors in WWII after kapok supplies were cut.