How to grow Showy Milkweed

Asclepias speciosa

Full Sun
Medium

How long does Showy milkweed take to grow?

These estimates for how long Showy milkweed takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

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Showy milkweed Etymology

“The name “milkweed” refers to the milky, white sap that is present in most members of this family, and the habit of growing in poor or “weedy” soil."²

The genus name Asclepias is for Askelpios, a Greek doctor who stories say was able to bring people back from the dead. Askelpios used a symbol of two snakes wrapped around a cane, still a symbol of medicine today.²

Showy milkweed Folklore & Trivia

Native Americans used showy milkweed for many things including medicine. ¹

During World War II, the silky down attached to the seeds of milkweeds was used to stuff pillows, life jackets and flight suits. The down is 5 to 6 times more buoyant that cork.²³⁴⁵

Other names for Showy milkweed

Showy milk weed

Misspellings: showey milkweed, showie milkweed,

Footnotes

¹ Fact Sheet-Showy Milkweed

² Milkweed

³ Native Plant Society of Texas

⁴ Washington Post

⁵ “Your Country’s Armed Services Need Milkweed Floss: How You Can Help” :https://archive.org/stream/YourCountrysArmedServicesNeedMilkweedFlossHowYouCanHelp/YourCountrysArmedServicesNeedMilkweedFlossHowYouCanHelp_djvu.txt