Milkweed in Alaska
Alaska has no native milkweed. The state lies far outside the range of every Asclepias species, and monarch butterflies are not resident here; the handful of records are wind-blown strays. Gardeners wanting to help pollinators should plant native fireweed, willows and Alaskan asters instead.
Milkweed in Alaska
No Asclepias species are native to Alaska.
Planting milkweed in Alaska
Sow seed outdoors in October to December, so the seed uses winter rain. Winter then supplies the cold-moist stratification most milkweed seed needs, and germination happens naturally as the soil warms. If you have missed that window, chill seed in the refrigerator for 30 days and sow after your last frost. The full method is here.
Alaska spans USDA zones 1–8, so check the zone range on each species page before committing. Match the species to your site rather than the other way round: dry, sunny and poor suits butterfly weed and the whorled species; a damp spot suits swamp milkweed; shade suits very few milkweeds at all.
Where to buy milkweed in Alaska
Start with Alaska Native Plant Society. State native plant societies run the plant sales worth going to: locally grown, untreated stock, at a few dollars a plant, sold by people who can tell you where to put it.
Elsewhere in the pacific
California native plant non-profit with a nursery, a seed program and a well-known plant sale.
Independent California native seed house.
Independent California native nursery with unusually detailed species notes.
Independent southern California native plant nursery.
Independent Bay Area nursery growing local-provenance natives.
Independent Portland nursery growing Pacific Northwest natives.
Bare-root native plants and locally collected seed for restoration work, sold to the public as well as to contractors.
Puget Sound natives grown for restoration, including showy milkweed for the small east-side monarch population.
A long-established retail nursery growing Pacific Northwest natives for gardens rather than for contracts.
Locally sourced central California natives, propagated from wild seed collected in the same watersheds.
Hawaii has no native milkweed, so this grows the island natives that support the pollinators that do belong here.
Ships to you
One of the widest milkweed seed and bare-root ranges anywhere, with germination codes listed for every species.
Long-established independent nursery specializing in Midwestern natives.
Independent seed producer supplying restoration-scale native seed by the pound.
Family-run native seed producer for the eastern and central states.
Family-run Texas seed house focused on regional ecotypes.
These favor independent nurseries and non-profits over chain garden centers, which mostly stock unlabeled tropical milkweed and often cannot tell you whether it has been treated with neonicotinoids. Search the full directory by ZIP code.
Milkweed in Alaska: common questions
Does milkweed grow in Alaska?
Alaska has no native milkweed. The state lies far outside the range of every Asclepias species, and monarch butterflies are not resident here; the handful of records are wind-blown strays. Gardeners wanting to help pollinators should plant native fireweed, willows and Alaskan asters instead.
Cite this page
This page is licensed CC BY 4.0. Quote it, adapt it and reuse it, including commercially, as long as you credit Milkweed USA and link back.
Milkweed USA. (2026). Milkweed in Alaska. Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/states/alaska/
"Milkweed in Alaska." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/states/alaska/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Milkweed in Alaska." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/states/alaska/.
@misc{milkweedusa_statesalaska,
title = {Milkweed in Alaska},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/states/alaska/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}