Bloom Color

White

Interesting Notes

Many are the oohs and ahhs when my drifts are in full bloom. This petite enchanter has 1-2' stems densely hung with long needle-like leaves so they look something like a cartoon cat's tail after an electric shock. The sweet-scented white flowers open in midsummer, and side branches keep them coming for several weeks. In autumn the leaves turn yellow to orange, and the pencil thin seed capsules are very decorative once they split open. Clumps increase rapidly by runners, but it's easy to keep unwanted stems pulled or dug up. Prairies, meadows, and open woods of the eastern and central United States are it's wild haunts. ~ Cole Burell, American Horticulturist - July/August 1998

The milkweed family name (Asclepiadaceae) is dedicated to the Greek god of medicine, Asklepios. Most of the 2400 species in this family are tropical. The specific epithet verticillata means "whorled" in botanical Latin. Whorled milkweed was first described for science by the great Swedish naturalist and father of modern plant taxonomy Carl von Linne (Linnaeus) in 1753.

Growing and Maintenance Tips

Found in dry fields, roadsides and shale barrens, you can see that it needs no coddling. Best located in a sunny dry spot, but will tolerate average to moist garden soil as well.