List of Nebraska Milkweeds
Nebraska Milkweed Species to Include in your Butterfly Garden
There are seventeen species of Nebraska milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) that can be grown for Monarch Butterflies and other insects. Milkweeds are an important host species for Monarch, Queen, and Soldier Butterflies. The Monarch butterfly in particular uses the cardenolides found in the milky sap of milkweeds to give an unpleasant taste to predators. These plants are also an important nectar source to all insects visiting your pollinator garden.
1. Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis), a Milkweed for Dry Soils
Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis): Clasping milkweed is native and rare in the eastern part of Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). In the wild, clasping milkweed grows in dry woodlands, prairies, meadows, and roadsides having sandy or gravelly soil. Growing up to 3 feet tall, this milkweed has greenish-pink, red, brown, to purple flowers that bloom from March to September.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, clasping milkweed is hardy in zones 3-9 and can be grown in places with full sun to part-shade having dry sandy soil. Seeds of clasping milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
2. Western Sand Milkweed (Asclepias arenaria), a Milkweed for Sandy Soil
Western Sand Milkweed (Ascelpias arenaria): Western sand milkweed is native throughout Nebraska, except for the southeast (Kartesz 2015). Western sand milkweed grows in open places such as fields, pastures, dunes, sandhills, and roadsides. The flowers are pale green to greenish-white with a pale purple hue. This plant is hardy in zones 4-9. Seeds for this milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, western sand milkweed requires sandy well-drained soil in full sun and is hardy in zones 4-9. Seeds of western sand milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
3. Spider Milkweed (Asclepias asperula), a Milkweed for Dry Soils
Spider Milkweed (Ascelpias aperula): Spider milkweed is native and rare in one county in south-central Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Subspecies capricornu is located in Nebraska. Spider milkweed is found in dry open habitats such as desert swales and scrub and pastures. The flowers are cream-green.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 5-9 and requires full sun and dry and/or rocky soils. Seeds of spider milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
4. Engelmann’s Milkweed (Asclepias engelmanniana), a Milkweed for Dry Soils
Engelmann’s Milkweed (Ascelpias engelmanniana): Engelmann’s milkweed is native to western Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Engelmann’s milkweed is found in dry open habitats such as desert swales, scrub and pastures. The flowers are cream-green.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 5-9 and requires full sun and dry sandy or limestone soils. Seeds of Englemann’s milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
5. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata): Swamp milkweed has two subspecies, ssp. incarnata and ssp. pulchra. The former is found thoughout the state (hardy in zones 3-9), while the latter is not found in Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Like the name suggests it is found in wet places including the shores of streams, lakes, ponds, and other wetlands. As a landscape plant it can exist in drier places. The flowers are variable and are generally a pink to red color, but there is also a white cultivar (pictured below).
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, swamp milkweed requires full sun to part shade and prefers moist to medium moisture soil, but it can exist in dry soil. Seeds of swamp milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
6. Side-Cluster Milkweed (Asclepias lanuginosa), a Rare Nebraska Milkweed
Side-cluster Milkweed (Asclepias lanuginosa): Side-cluster milkweed native and rare in scattered locations throughout Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). This plant grows in prairies and sandhills having full sun. The flowers range in color from green to cream and bloom from May to July.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, side-cluster milkweed is hardy in zones 4-7 and requires full sun and dry soil. However, it is a rare species, and is not in the horticultural trade.
7. Broad-leaf Milkweed (Asclepias latifolia), a Milkweed for Dray Sandy Soils
Broad-leaf Milkweed (Asclepias latifolia): Broad-leaf milkweed is native to the southwestern, south-central and one county in northern Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). This plant grows in open areas having full sun such as prairies, roadsides, and other right-of-ways. The greenish to yellow flowers bloom from May to August.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 5-8 and grows best in places having full sun to part shade with dry sandy soils. Seeds of broad-leaf milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
8. Low Milkweed (Asclepias pumila), a Milkweed for Dry Soils
Low Milkweed (Asclepias pumila): Low milkweed is native to central and western Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Low milkweed grows in dry open areas having full sun such as prairies. The flowers are white, greenish-white or yellowish-white with hints of red and bloom from July to September.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 5-9 and requires full sun and dry sandy and/or gravelly soils.
9. Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), a Milkweed for Moist Soils
Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens): Purple milkweed is native and rare in two counties in southeastern Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Purple milkweed grows in moist to dry places having full sun to part shade such as swamps, woodlands, meadows, roadsides, and dry fields. The purple to pink flowers bloom from May to July.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 3-8 and requires part shade but can handle full sun. Soils should be moist and well-drained, but dry soil can be tolerated. Seeds or purple milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
10. Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), a Milkweed for Medium to Dry Soils
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa): Showy milkweed is native throughout Nebraska with scattered locations in the east (Kartesz 2015). Showy milkweed grows in mesic to dry open areas such as roadsides, fields, and woodlands. The flowers are purple to pink in color and bloom from April to June.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 3-9 and requires places of full sun having medium to dry well-drained soil. Seeds of showy milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
11. Slim-leaf Milkweed (Asclepias stenophylla), a Milkweed for Dry Soils
Slim-leaf Milkweed (Asclepias stenophylla): Slim-leaf milkweed is native throughout Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Slim-leaf milkweed grows in open areas with full sun such as prairies and sandy areas. It has flowers that are greenish-white that bloom from June to August.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 3-9 and requires full sun and dry sandy or gravelly soils. Seeds of slim-leaf milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
12. Sullivant’s Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii), a Milkweed for Medium to Dry Soils
Sullivant’s Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii): Sullivant’s milkweed is native to the eastern part of Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Sullivant’s milkweed grows in open areas with full sun such as prairies, meadows, roadsides, and railroads. In June and July the pink to purplish flowers come out for garden visitors.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 3-7 and requires full sun with medium to dry sandy soil. Seeds of Sullivant’s milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
13. Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), a Milkweed for all Soils
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca): Common milkweed is native throughout Nebraska, except for the far west (Kartesz 2015) and grows in open areas such as fields, pastures, and roadsides, where there is full sun. The flowers range from pink, greenish-purple, greenish-white, to white and bloom from June to August.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 3-9 and requires full sun and generally any soil condition. Seeds of common milkweed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
14. Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), a Milkweed for all Soils
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa): Butterfly weed is one of the most common for butterfly gardeners on the east coast of the United States. In Nebraska, subspecies interior of this species occurs in the eastern part of the state (Kartesz 2015). The flowers are characteristically orange and bloom throughout the summer and sometimes into the autumn. It grows in open areas with full sun such as fields, roadsides, and open woods.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy from zones 3-9 and requires full sun and any type of soil. Seeds of butterfly weed can be purchased in the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
15. Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata), a Milkweed for Medium to Dry Soil
Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata): Whorled milkweed is native throughout Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). Whorled milkweed has green to white flowers that bloom from May to September. Like a lot of other milkweeds it grows in open areas such as meadows and fields, taking advantage of full sun.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 3-9 and requires full sun to part shade and medium to dry soil. Seeds for whorled milkweed can be purchased at the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
16. Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora), a Milkweed for Medium to Dry Sandy Soils
Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora): Green comet milkweed is native throughout Nebraska (Kartesz 2015). The flowers, which bloom from June to August, begin as a green color but age to become yellow with a purple tinge. The habitat includes open areas such as meadows and fields having full sun.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 3-9 and requires full sun to part shade and medium to dry sandy soil. Seeds of green comet milkweed can be purchased at the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
17. Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis), a Milkweed for Medium to Dry High pH Soils
Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis): Green milkweed is native in southeastern Nebraska(Kartesz 2015). The flowers, which bloom from April to October, are green, yellowish-green, or white and grow in open areas such as glades, prairies, roadsides, and pasture where there is full sun.
In your Nebraska butterfly garden, this milkweed is hardy in zones 8-11 and requires medium to dry soils having a high pH. Seeds of green milkweed can be purchased at the McMullen House Bed & Breakfast Garden Shop.
When selecting your Nebraska milkweed, be sure to make sure it grows in your zone and habitat.
References for Nebraska Milkweeds
- Kartesz, J.T. The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. Taxonomic Data Center. Link to website. Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)]