Plant Profile

Common Milkweed - (Asclepias syriaca) is a deciduous, native, herbaceous perennial wildflower in the Apocynaceae (dogbane) family. It grows in average, well-drained soils in full sun but can tolerate poor or dry soils. It propagates easily by seed or root cuttings and will naturalize in the garden, taking up quite a bit of space if left without competition. 

During summer, the five-petaled flowers bloom with up to 100 flowers per cluster and one to three clusters per stem. Fragrant flowers in the colors of green, pink, white, and purple or lavender will last from June through August. Plants can grow 3 to 5 feet tall.  Leaf arrangement is opposite and is oblong in shape with reddish veins.

Common Milkweed not only provides nectar for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators but is also a larval host plant for Monarch butterflies and several Tiger moths. It is often used in naturalized areas, meadows, and butterfly, native, or pollinator gardens. Based on its wild and rangy form it is not ideal for planting in borders. This is an excellent species for colonizing large areas to attract monarch butterflies.