Narrow-leaf milkweed attracts butterflies and bees and is smaller in stature than showy milkweed. It tolerates very dry conditions and is, typically, found in thin rocky soil areas in the Willamette Valley. It is a host plant for Monarch butterflies.

The Monarch butterfly host plant with great retail appeal, so it's easy to sell. It is unusual and showy with 3-in., globes of pink-tinged, star-shaped flowers. This increasingly rare plant is the only genus on which Monarch butterflies will deposit eggs. The nectar-filled flowers, opening late summer, exude a pleasing sweet fragrance and produce magnificent seed pods. 2-3 ft. tall.