Asclepias fascicularis

Narrowleaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)

from $8.99
sold out

Botanical name: Asclepias fascicularis • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Pale pink to greenish white • Pollinator value: Monarch host; nectar for bees, butterflies, and wasps • Host plant: Monarch, Queen

Narrow, almost grassy leaves in whorls up slender stems, topped with tight clusters of pale pink and greenish-white. It is the most refined-looking milkweed here and the easiest to fit into a planted bed rather than a wild corner. Monarch caterpillars feed on the leaves while bees, butterflies, and predatory wasps work the flowers.

Botanical name: Asclepias fascicularis • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Pale pink to greenish white • Pollinator value: Monarch host; nectar for bees, butterflies, and wasps • Host plant: Monarch, Queen

Narrow, almost grassy leaves in whorls up slender stems, topped with tight clusters of pale pink and greenish-white. It is the most refined-looking milkweed here and the easiest to fit into a planted bed rather than a wild corner. Monarch caterpillars feed on the leaves while bees, butterflies, and predatory wasps work the flowers.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Asclepias fascicularis

Common Name: Narrowleaf Milkweed

Native: Native

Native Region: California Floristic Province; Great Basin

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Low

Bloom Time: Summer

Bloom Color: Pale pink to greenish white

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies; Moths

Host Plant: Monarch, Queen

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 1'-2' x H 2'-3'

Soil: Well-drained; tolerates lean and seasonally dry soil

Pollinator Value: Monarch host; nectar for bees, butterflies, and wasps

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 6 to 10

Spread Habit: Clumping

Available As: Live plant

Growing Notes

Full sun and well-drained ground. It tolerates a seasonally dry site and lean soil, and unlike the showy milkweed it stays put rather than running. Space about 18 inches apart. Note the hardiness range: this is the least cold-tolerant milkweed in the catalog, so site it somewhere sheltered and expect it to be less reliable than showy milkweed in a hard Northern Nevada winter.

  • Water: Low

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Well-drained; tolerates lean and seasonally dry soil

  • Mature size: 2 to 3 ft by 1 to 2 ft

Maintenance

Leave stems standing through winter and cut back in late spring, keeping about a third of them for overwintering insects. Do not be alarmed by chewed leaves; that is the plant doing its job, and a milkweed stripped by caterpillars will re-leaf. Never treat it for aphids with anything systemic, since the same chemistry kills the monarchs you planted it for. Watering too much is the main way to lose it once established.