Asclepias exaltata (Poke Milkweed)
$8.00
Out of stock
Size: 3-6' tall / 2' wide
Sun: Part Sun - Full Shade
Soil: Rich, Moist, Acidic-Neutral, Well-Drained
Bloom Time: Early-Mid Summer
Deer Resistance: 4/5
Ecotype: Virginia
Poke Milkweed is a long-lived, clump-forming perennial, and it is one of the few members of the milkweed family to enjoy shadier sites. Happiest growing in dappled shade and along woodland edges, it can help bring some height to a shade garden. The flowers have an airier look than most other milkweeds, with the flowers sitting on more pronounced pedicels, giving it a firework-like appearance. These early summer blooms are aromatic and last for about a month.
Like all Milkweeds, Poke Milkweed is a larval host plant for the endangered Monarch caterpillar, and it attracts bees, wasps, butterflies, and moths as well. While deer and other herbivores will typically leave it alone due to the milky sap it produces, rabbits will feed on the fresh foliage that emerge in spring, so consider protecting new plants with a low cage.