Where to buy milkweed
Independent nurseries, conservation non-profits and native plant societies. Enter a ZIP code and this will put the closest and most relevant first.
Use this list
137 nurseries, seed houses and state native plant societies, compiled by hand and link-checked rather than scraped, and deliberately excluding chain garden centers. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit.
Milkweed USA. (2026). Independent milkweed nurseries and seed sources in the United States. https://milkweedusa.com/api/suppliers.csv
Why not the garden center?
Chain garden centers are the most convenient place to buy milkweed and usually the worst. What they stock is nearly always tropical milkweed, sold unlabeled as simply "milkweed", which is not native to the United States and causes real problems in frost-free states. It is also frequently treated with neonicotinoid insecticides, which persist in the leaves for months and kill the caterpillars the plant was bought to feed.
Two questions settle it, and an independent nursery can answer both: which species is this? and has it been treated with neonicotinoids? If nobody knows, buy somewhere else.
Native plant society sales are usually the cheapest option as well as the best. Plants are grown by volunteers from local seed, cost a few dollars, and come with somebody who can tell you where to put them.
Non-profits and conservation nurseries
Non-profit running a native plant nursery and demonstration gardens on the Colorado Front Range.
California native plant non-profit with a nursery, a seed program and a well-known plant sale.
Non-profit native plant program in the Arizona sky islands.
Maine non-profit selling wild-type native seed and running sowing workshops.
Non-profit nursery growing local-ecotype natives for the Potomac region.
A non-profit nursery employing adults with disabilities, growing Sonoran Desert natives including rush and desert milkweed.
Runs FloraKansas, the twice-yearly native plant sales that are the best source of Kansas milkweed there is.
The oldest plant conservation organization in the country. Its Nasami Farm nursery sells New England natives grown from wild-collected seed.
Runs the state’s native plant sales and propagates from Rhode Island populations.
A volunteer non-profit propagating Chesapeake watershed natives from locally collected seed.
Run by Blue Water Baltimore, a watershed non-profit. Every plant sold funds stream restoration in the city.
A botanic garden that trials native plants properly and publishes the results, including a well-known Asclepias trial. Holds plant sales.
The District’s tree and habitat non-profit. Runs giveaways and plantings, and is the right first call inside the city.
A public garden devoted to the Pearl River basin flora, running native plant sales twice a year.
Independent nurseries
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 nursery growing Missouri-provenance natives.
Independent grower supplying Midwestern restoration projects.
Small independent mail-order nursery for eastern natives.
Ships plants from a network of independent native growers, so you can buy small quantities from wholesale nurseries.
Independent California native nursery with unusually detailed species notes.
Independent southern California native plant nursery.
Independent Bay Area nursery growing local-provenance natives.
Independent nursery and seed house for the arid Southwest.
Independent Tucson nursery specializing in Sonoran Desert natives.
Independent grower supplying Mid-Atlantic restoration work.
Independent Portland nursery growing Pacific Northwest natives.
Independent Intermountain West native plant nursery.
Independent Gulf Coast Florida native nursery.
Independent north Florida mail-order native nursery.
Long-running independent southeastern native plant nursery.
Independent Pennsylvania native plant and tree nursery.
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.
Intermountain West natives, including showy milkweed for the Snake River Plain.
Western Montana natives grown from regionally collected seed, with an emphasis on riparian restoration.
A Front Range nursery specializing in Colorado natives and xeric plants, with several milkweed species most years.
Locally sourced central California natives, propagated from wild seed collected in the same watersheds.
One of the oldest prairie restoration nurseries in the northern plains, selling seed mixes and plugs.
Michigan genotype natives, propagated from seed collected within the state.
Illinois natives grown outdoors and unpampered, so plants transplant into real conditions without sulking.
Northern Illinois prairie and woodland natives, including prairie and swamp milkweed.
Central Illinois prairie species grown from local-ecotype seed.
A small Ohio nursery growing straight species from local seed, with an unusually wide milkweed selection.
Central Ohio natives and shade plants, with staff who will tell you honestly what will not work on your site.
A Missouri family nursery best known for its root production method, which gets natives established fast.
Minnesota-origin seed and plugs, from a company that also does the restoration work itself.
Kentucky and Ohio Valley natives, grown as straight species rather than cultivars.
Tennessee natives grown from regional seed, with a strong list of glade and woodland species.
Connecticut natives only, no cultivars, from a nursery that also does the ecological restoration work.
New Hampshire natives grown without neonicotinoids, sold direct from the farm.
Wetland and streambank natives, which is where swamp milkweed belongs and where it does best.
A western New York nursery growing perennial natives from seed, including several woodland milkweeds.
Hudson Valley and Catskill natives, with an unusually good selection of the shade-tolerant species.
Northern Virginia natives, straight species, grown by an ecologist who will talk you out of the wrong plant.
A West Virginia mail-order nursery with a deep and idiosyncratic perennial list, natives included.
North Carolina Piedmont natives from local seed, including several of the rarer coastal plain milkweeds.
Wetland and meadow natives for the Southeast, grown for restoration and sold retail too.
South Carolina natives, with sandhill and pine savanna species that are hard to find anywhere else.
Georgia Piedmont natives grown from seed collected on the farm and nearby.
A central Alabama nursery with a strong native and pollinator section alongside the heirlooms.
Gulf coast natives including aquatic milkweed, one of the few species that will grow in standing water and shade.
A Louisiana mail-order nursery with a wide southern perennial list and reliable packing.
Arkansas natives and southeastern species, from a nursery that has been mail-ordering them for decades.
Oklahoma natives grown from local seed, with green antelopehorn and antelope horns available most years.
Florida natives only, and a good source of the native milkweeds that should replace tropical milkweed in the state.
Hawaii has no native milkweed, so this grows the island natives that support the pollinators that do belong here.
Seed producers
Seed is far cheaper than plants. A few dollars of seed can plant an area that would cost hundreds in plugs, and fall sowing means winter does the cold stratification for free.
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.
Independent prairie seed and plant nursery in north-east Iowa.
Independent California native seed house.
Independent seed supplier with a broad milkweed range in small packets.
Independent Upper Midwest native seed producer.
Family-run Ozarks native seed producer.
Family-run prairie seed producer in eastern Nebraska.
Independent Great Plains native seed company.
Bare-root native plants and locally collected seed for restoration work, sold to the public as well as to contractors.
A family seed house on the Wyoming plains supplying native grasses and forbs, including showy milkweed, by the pound.
Great Basin seed collected in the region it is sold into, which matters more here than almost anywhere.
Northern Plains native seed, including common, showy and butterfly milkweed sold by the pound for prairie plantings.
Upper Midwest native seed and plugs, sold in quantities from a packet to a pasture.
Michigan-origin wildflower and grass seed, with several milkweeds available as straight species.
Ohio and Great Lakes native seed, sold as single species and as pollinator mixes.
Iowa-grown prairie seed, harvested from production fields established from remnant populations.
A large Hill Country seed grower. Read the label: the wildflower mixes are not all Texas natives.
National directories
Nothing here is a complete list. These directories cover far more ground.
A regional directory of milkweed seed and plant vendors, maintained by an invertebrate conservation non-profit. The best single starting point.
Regionally appropriate milkweed plugs sold by a university research program, shipped at the right planting time for your area.
Volunteer chapters across the country running native plant sales, seed swaps and garden tours. Often the cheapest plants you will find.
A long-running state-by-state directory of native plant nurseries.
Native plant lists by ZIP code, with local nursery leads attached.
Free planting guides matched to your ecoregion rather than your state line.
Native plant sourcing advice and a map of other people doing the same thing near you.
Native plant societies by state
These run the plant sales. If you only follow one link on this page, make it your own state's.
- AK Alaska Native Plant Society
- ME Wild Seed Project
- VT Vermont Botanical and Bird Club
- NH New Hampshire Association of Conservation Districts
- WA Washington Native Plant Society
- ID Idaho Native Plant Society
- MT Montana Native Plant Society
- ND North Dakota Forest Service seedling program
- MN Minnesota Native Plant Society
- IL Illinois Native Plant Society
- WI The Prairie Enthusiasts
- MI Wildflower Association of Michigan
- NY New York Flora Association
- MA Native Plant Trust
- RI Rhode Island Wild Plant Society
- OR Native Plant Society of Oregon
- NV Nevada Native Plant Society
- WY Wyoming Native Plant Society
- SD Great Plains Native Plant Society
- IA Iowa Native Plant Society
- IN Indiana Native Plant Society
- OH Ohio Native Plant Month
- PA Pennsylvania Native Plant Society
- NJ Native Plant Society of New Jersey
- CT Connecticut Botanical Society
- CA California Native Plant Society
- UT Utah Native Plant Society
- CO Colorado Native Plant Society
- NE Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
- MO Missouri Native Plant Society
- KY Kentucky Native Plant Society
- WV West Virginia Native Plant Society
- VA Virginia Native Plant Society
- MD Maryland Native Plant Society
- DE Delaware Native Plant Society
- AZ Arizona Native Plant Society
- NM Native Plant Society of New Mexico
- KS Kansas Native Plant Society
- AR Arkansas Native Plant Society
- TN Tennessee Native Plant Society
- NC North Carolina Native Plant Society
- SC South Carolina Native Plant Society
- DC Maryland Native Plant Society
- TX Native Plant Society of Texas
- OK Oklahoma Native Plant Society
- LA Louisiana Native Plant Society
- MS Mississippi Native Plant Society
- AL Alabama Native Plant Society
- GA Georgia Native Plant Society
- HI Plant Pono
- FL Florida Native Plant Society
Know somewhere good?
This list favors small growers, and small growers are exactly the ones that are hard to find from a distance. If you know an independent nursery, non-profit or seed producer that sells regionally appropriate milkweed, please suggest it.