Description
Asclepias speciosa is the western North American counterpart of the eastern A. syriaca with upright stems with oblong leaves topped with dense three inch globes of fragrant, pink, star-shaped flowers which attract butterflies and a wide range of pollinators to their nectar. The plants are a larval host plant for the western North American population of monarch butterflies that overwinter each year in California before making their trek north into southern BC. Showy milkweed spreads by underground rhizomes. Grow in a pot or sink a pot of it in the ground or allow it to spread in naturalized settings. Drought tolerant. Deer resistant.
