Southwest Ohio Native PlantsMonarchs Need Asclepias to Survive!
Monarchs will only choose milkweed to lay their eggs. Help monarchs survive by planting milkweed. There’s a milkweed for every growing condition you might have. Of the several dozen milkweeds that grow across the United States at least eight grow in the southwest Ohio area. We currently offer some varieties as seed and more as plants. We are growing several varieties to discover what growing conditions they require. See our Native Plants List for more detailed growing information.
Have a wet area? Grow Asclepias incarnata. Would you like a shorter well behaved garden plant that needs no extra watering once it’s established? Grow Asclepias tuberosa. Tuberosa can be found at big box stores, but you don’t know where is was grown and whether it can adapt to this area. We grow tuberosa of this area.
Want a plant that you can grow at the edge of your yard that will make a nice colony? Grow Asclepias syriaca. We collect seed from this area and are growing two different types of syriaca, one has single flower stems and one has multiple flower stems. Want an annual to fill in empty areas? Plant Asclepias curassavica. It is native in the southwestern United States, but is acceptable to the female monarch laying her eggs. Want a milkweed that grows happily along the woods edge or with some light shade? Grow Asclepias verticillita or Asclepias viridis. Want a beautiful prairie milkweed? Grow Asclepias sulivantii, Asclepias speciosa, or Asclepias purpurascens.
The milkweeds we are currently growing:
*Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa
*Rose milkweed Asclepias incarnata
Ball milkweed Asclepias speciosa
Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
Sullivant milkweed Asclepias sulivantii
Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillita
Spider milkweed Asclepias viridis
Silkweed milkweed Asclepias curassavica (not native in Ohio)
Poke/tall milkweed Asclepias exaltata
Green milkweed Asclepias hirtella
Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens
We are experimenting with these and several other types. We’ll let you know when they are available.
Try our Butterfly Garden collection containing lots of milkweed plants.