Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
California Milkweed
Asclepias californica
  
About California Milkweed (Asclepias californica) 10 Nurseries Carry This Plant California Milkweed (Asclepias californica) is a species in the Apocynaceae (Dogbane) family. It is native to California and northern Baja California from the East Bay region southward and the foothills of the Sierra.

This flowering perennial has thick, white, woolly stems that bend or run along the ground. The plentiful, hanging flowers are rounded structures.

The flowers are dull to bright shades of lavender or pink and form an attractive contrast with the grey-to-white foliage. This plant was eaten as candy by the Kawaiisu tribes of Indigenous California; the milky sap within the leaves is said to be flavorful and chewy when cooked.

To maximize Monarch butterflies reaching their overwintering areas, plant only locally native milkweed species.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
3 ft tall
3 ft wide

Form
Form
Spreading

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous

Flower Color
Flower Color
Lavender, Pink, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Milkweeds generally are host plants for Monarch butterflies and are essential to their survival. Native bees and other insects are also attracted.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed , 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates sand and clay. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Butterfly Gardens, Bird Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Milkweeds are most often used to create a butterfly garden. A wide variety of trees and shrubs can be used, including Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), Pines (Pinus spp.), Junipers (Juniperus spp.), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Ceanothus spp., Oaks (Quercus spp.), and Coyote Brush (Baccharis spp.). Also include other butterfly-attracting herbs such as members of the Asteraceae family, other Milkweeds (Asclepias fascicularis or A. speciosa), Thistles (Cirsium spp.), Buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.), Mint (Monardella spp.), and Sage (Salvia spp.). To provide year-round attraction, mix early bloomers with late bloomers and evergreens with deciduous.

Maintenance
Maintenance
It is important to avoid all chemical pest control around milkweeds to protect Monarch butterflies and caterpillars.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes, canyons, foothills with chaparral or woodlands; also disturbed areas, roadcuts

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.0" - 50.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.95", Coldest Month: 32.8" - 55.9", Hottest Month: 55.2" - 84.5", Humidity: 1.07" - 36.04", Elevation: 3" - 8798"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Asclepias californica ssp. greenei
Common Names: Greene's California Milkweed, Greene's Milkweed


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In