Prairie Milkweed

Perennial  •  $6, 4-inch pot

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Height	3 ft
Spacing	1 to 1.5 ft
Sun Exposure	Full Sun
Soil Moisture	Medium Wet
Bloom Color	Light Pink
Bloom Time	June – Aug
Companion Plantings	Boneset, Rattlesnake Master, Mountain Mint, Culver’s Root
Special Attributes

Asclepias sullivantii

Prairie Milkweed looks very similar to Common Milkweed (A. syriaca) with analogous light pink flowers and large, oval shaped opposite leaves, but is far less aggressive, making it a much better choice for home gardens. This milkweed prefers wetter soil and full sun, and is commonly found in moist remnant prairie, but has been known to pop-up in more disturbed sites as well. Despite its preference for moist soil, A. sullivantii will eventually send out a long taproot, helping it to become drought tolerant for those long, dry late summer months. Because of this taproot, transplanting may become difficult and/or dangerous for the plant after a few years, so site accordingly.

Even for a milkweed, the abundant nectar in these blooms are a magnet for butterflies, many types of bees, wasps, ants, and even the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. Bees are the most effective pollinators (as for most Milkweeds), but cross-pollination is not always successfully, resulting in seed pods that do not form. As with all Asclepias, Prairie Milkweed is a host plant to the Monarch butterfly and at least 11 other caterpillars in the Southern Indiana/Louisville region, as well as a handful of other insects that feed on the plant, like the harmless Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus, pictured).

Found mostly in Illinois and several other Central Plains states, this plant is not native to Kentucky and has regional populations located primarily in the upper western part of Indiana, with a small rogue population that has been found in Floyd County. Another common name, Sullivant’s Milkweed, and the species epithet is in reference to the botanist William Starling Sullivant.

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