Milkweed Varieties Ontario. There is one canadian species we don t have in ontario showy milkweed a. Speciosa but it s the only species found in bc.
As of september 8 2020 there are 30 packets. Without milkweed monarchs can t successfully reproduce and the species declines. Milkweeds are a large group of plants with heights anywhere from 20 to 180 centimetres 0 5 foot to 6 feet and flowers that range from white and greenish to pale pink and deep magenta.
Unlike in the united states where there might be dozens of milkweed varieties available for the female monarch to lay her eggs on in canada there are very few milkweed species that can survive the cold winters.
By planting milkweed in your own garden landscape and throughout your community you can help reverse the fortune of these beautiful insects. Common milkweed occurs throughout southern ontario in pastures meadows waste places roadsides and cultivated land. Although monarchs have preferences of some varieties over others there are many different species of milkweed plants that monarch caterpillars will gladly gobble up. In canada there are 14 different species one of which white milkweed asclepias variegata is extirpated.