Scientific Name
Asclepias curassavica L.
Common Name(s)
Tropical Milkweed, Blood Flower, Cotton Bush, Mexican Butterfly Weed, Red Head, Scarlet Milkweed, Wild Ipecacuanha
Synonym(s)
Asclepias aurantiaca, Asclepias bicolor, Asclepias cubensis, Asclepias margaritacea, Asclepias nivea var. curassavica
Scientific Classification
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Tribe: Asclepiadeae
Subtribe: Asclepiadinae
Genus: Asclepias
Flower
Color: Red-orange
Bloom Time: Summer and fall
Description
Asclepias curassavica is an evergreen perennial subshrub that grows up to 3.3 feet (1 m) tall. Leaves are arranged oppositely on the pale gray stems. They are lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate shaped, ending in acuminate or acute tips. Flowers appear in cymes with 10 to 20 flowers each. They are up to 0.8 inches (2 cm) in diameter and have red corollas and corona lobes that are orange. Flowering occurs in summer and fall. Fruits are fusiform shaped, up to 4 inches (10 cm) long, called follicles.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 8a to 11b: from 30 °F (−1.1 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).
How to Grow and Care
You can easily grow Milkweeds to attract the Monarch and other flying creatures to your garden. Plant seeds of the Milkweed Plant indoors or direct sow outside after danger of frost has passed, and soil has warmed. If the appearance of the plant is too weedy for your taste, grow Milkweeds in a hidden but sunny corner or at the back of a border.
Milkweed often does not begin growing in northern gardens in time to be fully beneficial to butterflies. However, you can start seeds of Milkweed inside so they will be ready to plant when the soil has warmed.
Milkweed plants benefit from vernalization, a cold treatment process, before sprouting. They get this when planted outside but treat the seeds through stratification to speed up the growing process. Place seeds into a container of moist soil, cover with a plastic bag, and refrigerate for at least three weeks. Plant into containers, if desired, and place under a grow light inside about six weeks before soil temperatures outside have warmed. Keep the soil moist by misting, but seeds can rot if allowed to sit in soggy soil.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Milkweed Plants.
Origin
This species is native to the American tropics.
Cultivars
Links
- Back to genus Asclepias
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
Photo Gallery
Click on a photo to see a larger version.
