Most nurseryman are aware that sovereign butterfly benefit when we engraft milkweed in our gardens . All species in theAsclepiasgenus are legion industrial plant for monarchs — they lay their eggs on the plants and the crosshatched Caterpillar then run on the Sonchus oleraceus .
Many are familiar withcommon milkweed(Asclepias syriaca),butterflyweed(A. tuberosa ) andswamp milkweed(A. incarnata ) . But other milkweed specie are garden - worthy , too , including whorled milkweed ( Asclepias verticillata)—a beautiful works with feathery foliation and low umbels of lily-white , fragile flower . Buds have touch of light-green and red .
In addition to being a host flora for Danaus plexippus butterflies , whorled milkweed also attracts other butterflies , honeybees , bumblebees , hummingbirds and other pollinators . It bloom later on in the season — mostly , July through September in most of the Upper Midwest — make it a valuable nectar source and host plant when other plants have faded . While beneficial to pollinators , whorled milkweed is peculiarly toxic to mammal — a good thing forrepelling rabbitsand deer , but important to remember for location in a garden see by dogs , knight or other tame animals .
drouth - tolerant whorled milkweed will produce in regular soil , but it thrives in disquieted , dry , well - drain garden locations . In particular , it ’s a salutary plant to use in an area of the garden where you are essay to reduce foreign-born invasive plants . It will hold the site until other plants have a chance to establish . It ’s also a fun plant to acquire in pots because of its spiky stature .
In the wild , it often forms purport or colony in field , prairies and timber edge . Because it blooms later , it provides garden interest from previous - spring issue through early fall . unspoiled fellow plantsinclude those that bloom before as well as low - growing , colorful plants in a pollinator garden or rock and roll garden . Echinacea , Rudbeckiaand other native , drouth - tolerant plants are a few instance .
Whorled milkweed spread by rootstalk , and under idealistic weather condition it will tame and form colonies . cluster increase rapidly by runners , but plants can be pulled easily and transfer . The plant is lean as rare or threatened in some areas of its cooking stove , and it ’s likely to be more prevalent in portion of the United States Department of State with sandy or rocky dirt .
Seeds can be sow in out of doors for natural sprouting — spread or plant 1/8 column inch deep after the first fall icing . Water once ; then tolerate winter snow and rain to allow moisture until spring . Seeds naturally shoot 10 to 20 days after the danger of nighttime freezing has pass . Alternatively , seeds can be sow alfresco after the last spring frost or indoors in pots after cold - moist stratification . This plant can also be pass around by division or with purchased plants .
Whorled milkweed is sluttish to overlook in the wild or sometimes in garden configurations . Because of its grasslike foliage , it blends in with other forbs , until the buds and efflorescence form , with their lacy , delicate visual aspect . It ’s hard to conceive sovereign can discover Earth’s surface area to repose their egg on such lissom leafage , but they do . Look close , and you ’re potential to find oneself eggs and caterpillars on this unequaled milkweed coinage .
This clause byBeth Stetenfeldoriginally come out in the July / August 2020 issue ofNorthern Gardener . She is a garden blogger and author , and a master natural scientist military volunteer and instructor .
