SHOWY MILKWEED
Summary
Showy milkweed is a native herbaceous perennial from widespread rhizomes, which produces stems that grow to 1½ to 5 ft tall in summer. Showy milkweed grows in well-drained soil in full or nearly full sun, in pastures, meadows, forest clearings, untilled fields, roadsides and ditch banks.
Plant Characteristics
Taxonomy
Zone
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zones
- 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Plant Characteristics
- Height
- 36" - 66"
- Bloom Period
- Early-Summer
- Bloom Color
- Pink
- Leaf Color
- Green
- Growing Cycle
- Perennial
- Growth Habit
- Rhizomatous
- Sun Requirement
- Full Sun, Shade, Partial Sun
Plant Information
- Planting Season
- Fall
- Plant Depth
- 0.25" - 0.5"
- Minimum Soil Temp for Germination
- 65° F
- Establishment
- Hard
Seed Information
- Seeds Per Pound
- 72,000
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Tracheobionta
- Super Division
- Spermatophyta
- Division
- Magnoliophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Subclass
- Asteridae
- Order
- Gentianales
- Family
- Asclepiadaceae
- Genus
- Asclepias
- Species
- Asclepias speciosa
Coverage Area & Available Sizes
Applications
Attractive in mass plantings as well as in species mixes
Larval host for Monarchs, and nectar source for pollinators