Milkweed Live Plant — photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Milkweed Live Plant — photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Perennials

Milkweed Live Plant

Zones 3a–9bLive Plant
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)

Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat, so a few clumps turn a sunny bed into a working monarch nursery.
Milkweed Live Plant

Pot Size: 4" Pot
Quantity
Milkweed Live Plant — photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Perennials

Milkweed Live Plant

$11.00 $8.00
Milkweed Live Plant — photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Perennials

Milkweed Live Plant

$11.00 $8.00
Pot Size: 4" Pot
Description

Plant the right natives: butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) for dry, sunny, well-drained spots, and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) for beds that stay moist - both are perennial here and die back cleanly each winter. We steer customers away from tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) because it stays evergreen through mild Gulf South winters, which delays monarch migration and lets the OE parasite build up on the foliage. Butterfly weed resents transplanting once its taproot is established, so choose its permanent home the first time. Shipped in a 4" Pot, well-rooted from our Lineville, Alabama nursery.

Specifications
  • Mature size: 2-4 ft tall and 1-2 ft wide
  • Grows best: Outdoors - Hardiness USDA 3-9
  • Pet safety: Toxic to pets if ingested - keep out of reach
  • Sourcing: Nursery-grown by Wade Greens; ships healthy from our Lineville, Alabama nursery to the lower 48 states.
Care Instructions
  • Light: Full sun
  • Water: Low for tuberosa; steady moisture for incarnata
  • Soil: Butterfly weed demands sharp drainage and lean soil, while swamp milkweed wants richer, moisture-holding ground.
  • Feeding: No fertilizer needed - native milkweeds bloom best in unamended soil.
Growing Zone

Hardy in zones 3a–9b. Outside that range it can still be grown in a container and overwintered indoors.

Full colour is zones 3a–9b, where this plant is hardy in the ground. Lower 48 shown — that's where we ship. 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, via the PRISM Climate Group.

Questions & Answers

How big does it get?
2-4 ft tall and 1-2 ft wide

How much light does it need?
Full sun

Is it safe for pets?
Toxic to pets if ingested - keep out of reach

How is it shipped?
Packed to arrive healthy and shipped from our Alabama nursery to the lower 48 states.

Shipping & Returns

Ships to all 48 contiguous states from our farm in Lineville, Alabama.

What it costs

Based on your order total: $12.95 under $35 · $16.95 to $75 · $21.95 to $125 · free over $125.

Ship days

Mondays and Tuesdays only — see below.

Getting it ready

1–3 business days to pot up, water back and pack.

Where we can't go

Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, P.O. boxes, and outside the United States.

Why we only ship Mondays and Tuesdays

A plant in a dark box is on a clock. Shipping early in the week means it reaches you before the weekend instead of sitting in a warehouse from Friday to Monday. It costs us a day or two of lead time and saves a lot of plants.

Practically: an order placed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or over the weekend goes out the following Monday. We'd rather tell you that now than let you find it in a tracking number.

How long it takes once it leaves

Typical ground transit from Lineville, Alabama after the ship day. Estimates, not guarantees — weather and carrier backlogs happen.

  • 1–2 days Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky
  • 2–3 days The rest of the Southeast and Midwest, Texas, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast
  • 3–5 days The Plains, the Mountain West and the West Coast

Tracking is emailed the moment your box is scanned.

If something arrives unhappy

A little leaf drop or travel stress is normal and usually sorts itself out within a week or two of settling in. If a plant arrives genuinely damaged, email support@wadegreens.com within 48 hours of delivery with a photo of the plant and the box, and we'll make it right.

Plant Traits

The facts that decide whether it takes root, in the order that matters.

Sunlight

Full Sun (6+ hrs)

Six or more hours of direct sun. With less it stretches toward the light and flowering thins out.

Water

Moderate

Water when the top inch of soil is dry. Evenly damp, never standing wet.

Mature Size

1-3 ft

Where it settles once established. Plan the spacing for this, not for the size it arrives at.

Foliage

Herbaceous

Soft-stemmed. It dies back to the ground and returns from the roots — the top going brown is the plan, not a failure.

Works As

Border & Bed

Traits

  • Attracts PollinatorsOpen, shallow flowers with nectar a generalist bee can reach. These are the visitors that set fruit on everything else in the garden.
  • Attracts ButterfliesFlat or clustered flowers give a landing surface, with nectar deep enough for a proboscis. Adults feed here; their caterpillars still need a host plant nearby.
  • Native to the SoutheastEvolved in this region's heat, humidity and rainfall pattern, alongside the insects that feed on it. Less input from you, more value to the wildlife around it.

Recently Viewed Products

Related Products

Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)
Example product title
$8.00
$11.00
$8.00
(-27%)