Creamy Milk Vetch

About Creamy Milk Vetch

Creamy Milk Vetch is a robust and eye-catching perennial that stands out with its prolific displays of elegant blossoms. Growing 1 to 2 feet tall, it produces numerous long, drooping racemes of fragrant, cream-colored flowers in late spring and early summer. Its fine-textured, compound foliage adds a delicate touch to its otherwise sturdy frame. This species is particularly notable for its ability to grow in selenium-rich soils, often acting as an indicator plant for these conditions. Native to the western prairies and plains, it thrives in full sun and well-drained, medium-dry to dry soils. It is a fantastic plant for attracting native bees and other pollinators to the garden. Like many legumes, it forms a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria to fix nitrogen. To grow from seed, scarification is recommended to break the tough outer shell, followed by a period of cold stratification.