Asclepias fascicularis

Primo butterfly nectar source from the Central Coast range of California south. White to off white flowers with a hint of lavender. Rich soil in the winter, but can go a very long time in summer with nary a drop of water. Frost hardy in USDA zone 6. A fine plant; a wild collection by our beloved Sean Hogan.

This delicate-looking wildflower from the western United States is extremely drought-tolerant, trouble-free and very important for wildlife. Clusters of intricate, purplish-pink-tinted, white flowers sit on stalks above the2-4' clumps of long, narrow, threadlike leaves. This is an incredibly important plant, as Asclepias is the only larval food for the Monarch butterfly. This Asclepias provides nectar for other butterflies and hummingbirds and it is also a commonly used nesting material for birds. S/M-D

The Narrow Leaved Milkweed is native to the US West Coast. Spring and Summer bring clusters of small, pink and white blooms on 2′ tall stems, especially attracting butterflies to your garden. This plant has very low water requirements and is drought tolerant. Deer resistant.

One of the easiest Milkweeds to grow, it can take drought, clay soil AND soggy winter soil. Umbels of light pink flowers attract many pollinators. This is a host plant for our Monarch butterfly! In ideal conditions it will spread to form small colonies.

Purplish-pink to greenish-white flowers bloom summer to fall. Asclepias fascicularis has a three foot tall stem and narrow, five-inch leaves, and a five-inch flower cluster. Water well the first month and then ignore. This native will tolerate clay and salty soil! Monarch Butterflies use this plant as a nectar source AND host plant for their larvae! Many other pollinators use this plant as a nectar source, too: honeybees, moths, hummingbirds, and lots of other butterflies. If you want to learn more about milkweeds, visit the Project Milkweed page at the Xerces Society.

This hardy perennial herb grows to 3' tall and 1' wide. Narrow leaf milkweed is the most favored larval Monarch butterfly host in California. Great for a bird garden and a butterfly garden. Can tolerate clay soils sopping wet in winter and rock hard during the summer drought. Antique pink flower clusters abound in the summer. Native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Great for a bird garden and a butterfly garden. The most favored larval monarch host in California. Native Americans of Mendocino county used a poultice of leaves for a snake bite remedy and the young flowers were occasionally eaten. The Ohlone people used the stem fiber to make ropes. The most common use for milkweed was to obtain a kind of chewing gum from the milky sap. The sap would be cooked until solid and mixed with salmon fat. Found in dry climates, plains, hill, valleys, roadsides, and disturbed grounds. Communitites located in Yellow Pine Forest, Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, Valley Grassland, wetland-riparian Between 0 and 7000 feet.

An elegant, easily grown California native, this plant is tolerant of a wider range of extremes than most Asclepias we offer. This milk-weed has soft pink & white clusters of flowers that span 5” in summer, above 5”, narrow leaves, & is an important food source for Monarch butterfly larvae. Drought tolerant, & needing NO SUMMER WATER once established, it is advised that you plant it, water it for a month, & then let it figure the rest out on its own. This very adaptable plant grows 4’ high, & 1’ wide, & can take Summer water so long as your drainage is good. Clay soil is just fine so long as you withhold Summer water. This species goes dormant in late Summer & emerges again in the Spring!