Pronounciation: A-SCLE-pee-us sub-u-LA-ta

Hardiness zones
Sunset 11-13
USDA 9-11 (arid zones only)

Landscape Use: Seasonal accent plant (mostly line and texture) for dry landscapes.

Form & Character: Erect, stiff, open, airy, and informal.

Growth Habit: Herbaceous perennial, generally basally clumping and erect. Moderate grower from 2- to 5-feet tall. If it's irrigated regularly, then it will respond with increased vigor and size and become quite large and "leggy".

Foliage/Texture: Green to gray green stems, entirely leafless except for new growth; medium fine texture.

Flowers & Fruits: Small, terminal creamy yellow flowers forming flat-topped umbels during spring through fall. Fruit is horn shaped to 3-inches long.

Seasonal Color: A very subtle flower accent during growing the season, but most evident during spring.

Temperature: Very heat tolerant, cold tolerant to 18^oF.

Light: Full sun.

Soil: Prefers sandy, well-drained soils, but will grow well in pretty much any Phoenix soil type.

Watering: Little to none. Plants that are irrigated have a much enhanced growth rate.

Pruning: Head back severely to rejuvenate every 3 to 5 years.

Propagation: Seed, stem cuttings.

Disease and Pests: None, except occasional aphids on juicy flower stalks.

Additional comments: Desert milkweed is currently quite popular as a desert accent plant. Its stems produce latex that is a source of rubber and might cause a minor dermatitis upon contact with the skin. This interesting plant attracts all kinds of flying wildlife from bees, wasps, and assasin bugs to butterflies, and is in particular a forage plant for the monarch and striated queen butterflies.

Factoids for Plant Nerds: There are 73 species of Asclepias found in the United States at many different elevations. The genus Asclepias is named after the greek god Asklepios, the ancient god of medicine.