Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Photo by Pam Ford
Summary
A mainstay of any pollinator garden, common milkweed’s unique, five-petaled flowers bloom in clusters, with one to three clusters per stem. Often smelled before it’s seen, the highly fragrant flowers in shades of green, pink, white, and purple or lavender will last from June through August. Milkweed was once common along roadsides, in fields and meadows. It tolerates a variety of soil conditions and prefers sunny locations, and will spread readily by seed or rhizome. Common milkweed’s leaves exude a milky sap containing cardiac glycosides, compounds that are toxic to most birds and mammals, so it’s naturally resistant to insect and animal damage.
More Details
FAMILY
Apocynaceae (Dogbane)
BLOOM TIME
June-August
FLOWER
Dusky pink
MATURE SIZE
3-6 feet
LIGHT REQUIREMENT
Sun/Part Shade
SOIL CONDITIONS
Average
NATIVE STATUS
PA Native
Ecosystem Connections
Milkweed is best known as the host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars. Their larvae, along with the milkweed tussock moth caterpillar and milkweed leaf beetle, feed on the flowers and foliage. Many bee, wasp, butterfly and beetle species visit common milkweed for nectar, and the plant deploys a unique pollination strategy. When insects grasp one of the five flower hoods in order to access the nectar within, their legs can become wrapped in wishbone- shaped sacs called pollinia, which will then be carried to other milkweed flowers. If a leg slips into another blossom, the sacs can be transferred into the stigmatic slit, and cross-pollination occurs.
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