Ship to
An incredibly drought tolerant and unique milkweed with slender needle-like leaves on a shrubby plant up to 3-4’ high and wide. Native to deserts from Arizona to central Mexico, it blooms from late spring thru early fall with umbels of lightly fragrant, white, 1/4” star-shaped flowers that attract a host of butterflies — most notably Queens and Monarchs. Bird-head-shaped seed pods follow. Considered a subshrub, with a woody base and a plethora of ascending stems, this handsome plant is perfect for a dry garden bed or for use in a water wise design. Evergreen with temperatures above 25°F. It prefers fast draining alkaline soil and needs only a minimum of water during the growing season.
USE OF BT UPDATE & GROWING NOTES:
We are pleased to announce that the California Department of Agriculture has recently lifted its requirement that our nursery use Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), as a naturally occurring biological insecticide (also commonly used on organically grown fruits and vegetables), as control against LBAM (Light Brown Apple Moth) within the State of California. As a result we are no longer using BT in our nursery. Bt was known to be toxic to caterpillars, particularly the Monarch butterfly caterpillar, which is why we had always advised our customers to wait a growing season (or approximately one year) before introducing Monarch caterpillars to any Asclepia (Milkweed) plants. Waiting a season also helps ensure the plants are large enough and have enough foliage to provide sufficient food and the BT has had time to wear off.
