Desert milkweed
Asclepias subulata Decne.
Also called desert milkweed, rush milkweed.
Clump of nearly leafless, rush-like gray-green stems topped with clusters of cream flowers from spring through fall. A low-water host plant for monarch and queen butterflies in desert gardens.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 0.9–1.5 m (3–5 ft) tall and 0.6–1.2 m (2–4 ft) wide; medium growth, about 3 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.25) from the #1 install size.
Bloom
Cream flowers, Mar–Oct (northern-hemisphere months; timing shifts with region and season).
| Plant | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desert milkweed : Mar–Oct |
Design notes
- Milky sap is toxic and irritating; keep away from play areas.
- Oleander aphids are common and do no lasting harm — avoid insecticides on milkweeds.
- Damaged by hard frost below about −4 °C; best in the low desert.
Regions
Native range: Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of Arizona, Nevada, California and northwestern Mexico.
Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
In the guides
Desert milkweed comes up in this guide:
Related plants
Try Desert milkweed in a plan
Opens your own copy of a finished sample garden in the planner with Desert milkweed ready to place; the planner checks it against that garden’s zone, light and moisture.
Plan with Desert milkweed
Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.