Native Plant Database

Header Photo: Mervin Wallace

Aquatic Milkweed

Asclepias perennis
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennials
Native Environment: Wetland
Season of Interest: Mid (May - June), Late (July - frost)
Main Color: Pink / Rose, White
Fall Color:

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Clusters of little pink flowers and green foliage.
Photo: Mervin Wallace
Sun Exposure 
Full Sun, Medium Sun/Average Shade
Soil
Moisture
High, Wet
Nature Attracting
Butterfly, Pollinators/Beneficial Insects
Wildlife Benefit
Butterfly / Moth Host, Food/Pollinators
Animal
Resistance
Deer Resistant
Size

Height:

18 to
24
inches

Spread:

12 to
18
inches
Size
Height: 18 to
24
inches
Spread: 12 to
18
inches
Size
Height: 18 to
24
inches
Spread: 12 to
18
inches
Typical Landscape Use
Rain gardens and moist or wet butterfly/pollinator gardens.
Establishment and Care Instructions
Site where plant will have consistent moisture.
Special Features
Special Usage
Rainscaping
Basic Description

Long-flowering milkweed that grows in wet areas and tolerates shade. Vivid white flowers are sometimes pink-tinged, borne on umbels, and last from early to late summer. Flowers are followed by drooping seed pods that lack the silky hairs of some milkweeds. Long-lasting, lance-shaped leaves are food for larvae of the monarch butterfly; also, a nectar plant for pollinators.

Where Should I Start?

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Where Can I Find This Plant in Nature?

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