Asclepias speciosa - Showy Milkweed - Perennial wildflower
Host plant for monarch butterflies. Caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed plants. Flowers also attract an array of bees, flies, and butterflies. This plant can be slow to get going, but once established it can spread rapidly. Seeds were collected in Benton County Oregon.
Seed Packet Contains: approximately 50 seeds
Sowing instructions:
Direct sowing: not recommended. Showy milkweed seedlings are small and not vigorous in their first year. They are easily overtaken by other plants.
Growing transplants: Seeds are not dormant but germinate best in warm temperatures (65-80 degrees). Seedlings will grow slowly the first summer in the containers, should be transplanted out into the landscape in fall when dormant, and will emerge again the following April.
Source: Steele Acres Native Willamette Valley Seed
Photo credit: Steele Acres Native Willamette Valley Seed