Asclepias speciosa, Showy Milkweed winter-blooming silvery flowers sweetly scent its

silvery flowers sweetly scent its environment in fall

long catkins draping the then leafless tree

Native to open woods

Flowers emerge before the leaves and young pods are purportedly edible

Adapts well to pruning and is one of our favorites

Asclepias speciosa, Showy Milkweed winter-blooming silvery flowers sweetly scent itsFrosty white buds open to form a dome of fragrant, clove scented, pale pink stars in summer through fall. Its seed pods are entertaining, too 4 inch long, upright, fuzzy, pointed pods filled with cottony seeds. Remove them before they open if you don't want a lot of babies (Asclepias speciosa babies, that is). All in all, this is a surprisingly ornamental Willamette Valley native! Mature size: 3 feet tall & spreading! It can (and will) travel via