How to Plant Common Milkweed (Asclepias Syriaca) From Seed

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a perennial wildflower native to eastern and central North America. It is well known for its role as a host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars, providing essential food for their development.

Planting Common Milkweed supports declining monarch butterfly populations by providing a critical breeding ground and food source for their larvae. Its nectar-rich flowers sustain numerous pollinators, contributing to overall ecosystem health. Once established, this hardy plant requires little maintenance and is highly drought-tolerant, making it an excellent choice for sustainable landscaping. Additionally, Common Milkweed helps restore native prairie and meadow ecosystems, offering beauty and biodiversity benefits to any garden or restoration project.

The plant produces clusters of fragrant, pink to purplish flowers that bloom in summer, attracting a variety of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Its tall, sturdy stems and broad leaves make it a valuable addition to native plant gardens, prairie restorations, and pollinator habitats.

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Native Range

Ethnobotany

Milkweed has long been used across the United States and southern Canada for fiber, food, and medicine. Its tough fibers are especially valued for making cord, rope, and coarse woven cloth. The stems are typically harvested after the plants have senesced in late fall or early winter. Once dried, the stalks are split open to extract the fibers, which are sometimes blended with those from Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum).

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