Asclepias eriocarpa
A California-native milkweed in the Apocynaceae family, this drought-tolerant perennial grows 1–3 feet tall with woolly stems and leaves, bears cream to pale pink flowers in summer, forms rhizomes and fuzzy seed pods, resprouts after fire, and supports monarchs and a diversity of pollinators.
Common Names
Indian Milkweed, Woollypod Milkweed, Kotolo Milkweed, Milkweed, Monarch Milkweed
Summary
Woollypod Milkweed is a California native perennial with an erect habit and large, wide grey fuzzy leaves; cream-colored to white flowers appear in Spring and Summer, and plants reach about 2 to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide with deciduous foliage, providing wildlife value for bees, butterflies, and songbirds, and serving as important caterpillar food for monarch and queen butterflies.
In cultivation, it prefers full sun and is drought-tolerant, with a moderate growth rate, making it suitable for butterfly and pollinator gardens and other sunny landscape uses.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
1-3 ft
Spread
1-3 feet
Hardiness Zones
Zones 6-10
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally full sun, tolerates partial sun and partial shade.
Soil Type
Well-drained soil
Soil Drainage
Well-drained soil.
Soil pH
6.0-7.0
Bloom Color
Cream, Pink, White
Bloom Time
Summer
Foliage Color
Greenish-silvery (silvery-green) foliage
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Moderate growth rate.
Seasons of Interest
Spring and Summer
Propagation Methods
Seeds, Division, Basal cuttings
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts bees, butterflies, other pollinators, and birds
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- Benth.
- Publication
- Pl. Hartw. : 323 (1849)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Gentianales
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Asclepias
Synonyms
Asclepias eriocarpa var. microcarpa Asclepias fremontii Asclepias kotolo