Giant Milkweed
calotropis gigantea

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per 6 square feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: beetles
harvest notes: prune for wanted shape
season: spring, summer
perennial

Giant Milkweed or Crown Flower, Calotropis gigantea, is a leggy, large shrub or small tree. It is native to India, southern China, Malaysia and Indonesia, but has been extensively cultivated in tropical areas around the world. Giant Milkweed is a fast-growing, attractive, ever-flowering plant that has been known to grow up to 30 feet with time and in ideal conditions, however it is much more likely to be shorter and is usually branched at the base. Widely cultivated as an ornamental, the plant thrives in soils where nothing else will grow, needing very little to thrive. It has been considered a good plant for bringing waste land under tillage and for reclaiming drifting sands. Although not a designated monarch host plant, we have also seen the butterflies love up on this milkweed as well.