Tall Green Milkweed | Asclepias hirtella

🌿 Ships well rooted in a 3.5 x 5 inch deep pot. 

Where most milkweeds go wide and bold, tall green milkweed goes tall and refined. Slender, unbranched stems rise to 4 feet with narrow, alternate leaves, unusual for milkweeds which typically have opposite leaves, giving the whole plant a clean, airy, almost grass-like profile that integrates beautifully into prairie plantings and native meadows without competing for visual dominance. The flowers make up for their subtle greenish-white color in sheer abundance: each stem carries 2 to 10 globe-shaped umbels, each packed with 30 to 100 individual blossoms, making it one of the most prolific-blooming milkweeds by flower count. Bees are the primary pollinators, with honeybees, bumblebees, and leaf-cutting bees working it heavily, and Monarch caterpillars feast on the long lance-shaped foliage through the heart of summer when the plant's ample leaves are at their peak. Dramatic elongated seed pods follow in late summer, splitting to release silky-tufted seeds on the breeze.

It thrives in full sun, dry to medium-moist well-drained soil, and handles sandy and gravelly conditions with ease. Like all milkweeds, it develops a deep taproot, so get it in the ground promptly and give it a season to establish before expecting peak performance.

🌿 Latin Name: Asclepias hirtella
🌞 Light: Full sun; tolerates part shade
🌱 Soil: Well-drained, dry to medium; sandy, gravelly, or loamy soils; no wet feet
💧 Water: Drought-tolerant once established; deep taproot
📏 Mature Size: 3 to 4 ft tall; slender, upright habit
🌸 Bloom Time: Midsummer (June to August)
🗺️ Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9
🦋 Wildlife Value: Larval host for Monarch butterflies; Xerces Society special value to native bees, bumble bees, and honey bees; attracts butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds; deer resistant
⚠️ Planting note: Deep taproot; plant in ground promptly after receiving; allow one full season to establish