Common milkweed is very similar to our native showy milkweed, but native to eastern North America. This species is just as showy as the showy milkweed in our garden but a little more pink than white and it blooms later in the summer. Flower stalks can grow up to three or four feet and bloom with a few large flower clusters. This plant is a host for monarch and other butterflies and also has fiber and edible uses.

Plants prefer full sun and good drainage. Milky sap that emerges from a wound in the plant is toxic to mammals including humans, but only in large quantities.