Plant Habit: | Herb/Forb |
Life cycle: | Perennial |
Sun Requirements: | Full Sun to Partial Shade |
Water Preferences: | Wet Mesic Mesic |
Minimum cold hardiness: | Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35) |
Maximum recommended zone: | Zone 7b |
Plant Height: | 24 - 48 inches |
Plant Spread: | 12 - 18 inches |
Leaves: | Other: Smooth milkweed (also commonly known as Sullivant's milkweed and prairie milkweed) is a rough, weedy perennial which is very similar to common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) except smooth milkweed has (a) smooth (glabrous) stems, leaves and seed pods, (b) l |
Fruit: | Showy Other: Smooth seed pods (2-4" long) which split open when ripe releasing their numerous silky-tailed seeds for dispersal by the wind. |
Flowers: | Showy Fragrant Other: Flowers are a nectar source for many butterflies and leaves are a food source for monarch butterfly larvae (caterpillars). |
Flower Color: | Pink Other: Pinkish-white to pinkish-purple |
Bloom Size: | Under 1" |
Flower Time: | Late spring or early summer Summer Other: Long bloom period from late spring well into summer |
Underground structures: | Rhizome |
Uses: | Will Naturalize |
Wildlife Attractant: | Bees Butterflies |
Resistances: | Deer Resistant Rabbit Resistant |
Toxicity: | Leaves are poisonous Roots are poisonous |
Propagation: Seeds: | Provide light Stratify seeds: 1 month at 40 degrees Suitable for wintersowing Other info: Easily grown from seed, and may self-seed in the landscape if seed pods are not removed prior to splitting open. |
Propagation: Other methods: | Division |
Pollinators: | Wasps Moths and Butterflies Bees |
Containers: | Not suitable for containers |
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