Chives vs Showy Milkweed - TreeTime.ca

Chives vs Showy Milkweed

Allium schoenoprasum

Asclepias speciosa

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Chives
Showy Milkweed

Chives are small bulbous perennials commonly used as herbs in cooking for a mild onion like flavour. Chives also add ornamental benefits to your yard with their tubular grass-like leaves and clusters of pale purple flowers. The flower heads can also be used as a garnish or in oils.

It is best to harvest Chives from the base to maintain the attractive clumps. If the flowers are not dead-headed, it will self-seed. Planting our overwintered chives will give you a head start in your vegetable garden.

Showy Milkweed is a native perennial wildflower known for its fragrant clusters of pink to purple, star-shaped flowers. It is an essential plant for Monarch butterflies, acting as a critical host plant for caterpillars and a nectar source for adults. Blooming from early to mid-summer, these flowers also supply nectar to many other pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds.

Ideal for butterfly conservation, pollinator gardens, and naturalization projects, Showy Milkweed thrives in a wide range of soils, including dry and rocky ground. While it spreads via underground rhizomes to form colonies, it is much less aggressive than Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

Note: All parts of the plant contain toxic cardiac glycosides, especially the milky sap. Do not ingest any part of the plant and prevent sap from contacting skin or eyes. Toxic to humans, pets, and livestock.

Chives Quick Facts

Showy Milkweed Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.4 m (1.3 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, clump forming
Spreading: rhizomes - high, seeds - high
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: toxic to pets, livestock, and humans if ingested, can cause skin and eye irritation.
Flowers: purple
Flowers: purplish-pink clusters
Bloom time: early to mid summer
Flavor: onion/garlic
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU
Native to: AB, BC, MB, YT
Other Names: schnittlauch