Description
**Online orders are for local pickup only at our Lake Ann location. We do not ship plants. Select your pickup date at checkout. Orders must be placed at least 1 day before pickup, and plants will be ready by 10am on your selected date.
Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens) is a beautiful and less commonly encountered native milkweed featuring rich rose-purple flower clusters and broad green foliage. Compared with Common Milkweed, it generally has a more restrained growth habit, making it an excellent option for gardeners who want the ecological benefits of milkweed in a more organized landscape.
Growing Requirements:
- Light: Full sun to part shade
- Soil: Average to moderately moist, well-drained soil
- Height: 2 to 3 feet tall
- Spacing: Space 18–24 inches apart
- Bloom Time: Early to mid-summer (June–July)
- Hardiness Zones: USDA zones 3–8
Features:
- Rich Purple Blooms: Rounded clusters of deep pink to purple flowers create a striking early-summer display.
- Garden-Friendly Milkweed: Typically less aggressive than Common Milkweed, making it easier to incorporate into designed gardens.
- Attractive Foliage: Broad, substantial leaves provide a lush appearance even when the plant is not flowering.
Ecological Benefits: Purple Milkweed is a larval host plant for Monarch butterflies, whose caterpillars feed on its foliage. Its nectar-rich flowers also attract native bees, butterflies, and many other beneficial insects, making it an exceptionally valuable addition to pollinator habitat.
Landscape Uses: Ideal for pollinator gardens, woodland edges, sunny borders, naturalized gardens, and more formal native landscapes. Pair it with Wild Geranium, Purple Coneflower, Wild Quinine, Prairie Dropseed, and native asters.
Purple Milkweed combines the extraordinary ecological value of a native milkweed with beautiful flowers and a relatively garden-friendly growth habit.
