Asclepias Species, Purple Milkweed

I think people have this confused with common milkweed. In fact, the two are often confused and purple milkweed is often mis-reported. Th...Read Moreis is one of the rarest and more difficult to grow milkweeds. Seeds are fairly readily available online but plants are rarely offered and are usually seedlings. Like most milkweeds, seeds need stratification but Successful germination seems to be much less than other types. This milkweed type is almost extinct in MA with only 1 or 2 confirmed patches in the wild. Efforts are being made to protect those sites. Information online is dicey as to what this species of milkweed actually wants. Apparently a supplier has successfully started raising purple milkweed because I was able to pick up 3, 1 gallon size plants. I had tried growing an expensive seedling in the past and failed. I have them placed in mostly sun with some afternoon shade. They are in sandy loamy soil and seem to be happy. More compact than common milkweed with brighter flowers. It almost looks like if someone created a nicer cultivar of common milkweed. In the wild, it seems to prefer mostly sun and can range from fairly dry to fairly moist soils. PH doesn’t seem to matter but it’s said that it is more commonly found in slightly alkaline soil. Mine is doing fine in acidic soil. It has been observed to completely disappear some years and then reappear in same location in subsequent seasons. It’s unknown if the roots survived or it reseeded. It’s thought to spread slowly by runners and rarely produces much viable seed. It’s unknown if this is natural for the species or if pockets of isolation has led to weakening of the species. Purple milkweed seems to appear most often near oak groves or cleared out oak groves. (From a study by The Native Plant Trust.) It seems to sometimes cross with common milkweed. It’s thought that Common milkweed is more fertile and has a more dominant gene profile and hybridization may contribute to purple milkweed disappearing.

beautiful color. may be a bit too aggressive for small gardens or borders, but great in "wild" naturalistic areas and butterfly gardens. ...Read Moredrought tolerant.

Purple Milkweed Asclepias purpurascens is native to Texas and other States.