Different Types Of Milkweed: Best Kinds Of Milkweed For Butterflies

monarch butterfly

(Image credit: Rabbitti)

last updated 15 November 2021

With use of agricultural herbicides and other human interference with nature, milkweed plants are not as widely available for monarchs these days. Continue reading to learn more about the different types of milkweed you can grow to help future generations of monarch butterflies.

Different Types of Milkweed

With monarch butterfly populations having dropped more than 90% in the last twenty years because of a loss of host plants, growing different milkweed plants is very important for the future of monarchs. Milkweed plants are the monarch butterfly’s only host plant. In midsummer, female monarch butterflies visit milkweed to drink its nectar and lay eggs. When these eggs hatch into tiny monarch caterpillars, they immediately begin to feed on the leaves of their milkweed host. After a couple weeks of feeding, a monarch caterpillar will seek out a safe place to form its chrysalis, where it will become a butterfly.

With over 100 native species of milkweed plants in the United States, almost anyone can grow varieties of milkweed in their area. Many types of milkweed are specific to certain regions of the country.

The Northeast Region runs down through the center of North Dakota through Kansas, then east through Virginia and includes all states north of this.
The Southeastern Region runs from Arkansas through North Carolina, including all states south of this through Florida.
The South Central Region includes only Texas and Oklahoma.
The Western Region includes all western states except for California and Arizona, which are both considered individual regions.

Milkweed Plant Varieties for Butterflies

Below is a list of different types of milkweed and their native regions. This list does not contain all varieties of milkweed, just the best kinds of milkweed to support monarchs in your region.

Northeast Region