Common Milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Drought tolerant native rhizomatous perennial with rose or occasionally white flowers, blooming May to October. Occurs in rich loamy soil to high clays and sands within prairies, forest margins, dunes, roadsides and ditchbanks; up to 5,500 ft. elevation. Highly variable height, from 2-6 ft. tall. Robust, tolerant of a variety of habitats. Vigorous colonizer useful for stabilizing degraded or disturbed soils. Hybridizes with Showy milkweed (A. speciosa). May become weedy, displacing other vegetation. Excellent nectar for pollinators, attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, honeybees, native bees and various beneficial insects. Larval host of the Monarch butterfly.