Butterfly Weed Plant Profile

Butterfly Weed Plant Profile

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a perennial plant that is native to much of the Eastern and Southern United States. It is also known as Butterfly Milkweed or Orange Milkweed.

The flowers of Butterfly Weed are commonly orange or yellow. The blooms are a nectar source for many kinds of butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

The leaves are narrow and bright green. The foliage is a food source for the caterpillars of Monarch, Grey Hairstreak, and Queen Butterfly.

Butterfly Weed prefers to be planted in full sun and does well in poor soils. It is drought-tolerant once established.

It is hardy to USDA Zones 3 to 9. It is deer-resistant like other members of the milkweed family. However, it doesn’t produce the milky sap that other milkweeds do.

Butterfly Weed can self-sow if allowed to go to seed, but it takes a few years for a new plant to flower. It has a deep tap root, so does not transplant well.

It has a long season of bloom--making it one of our more showy wildflowers in the garden. It is also a good cut flower.

Butterfly Weed: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine as part of our Plant Profile series for Mid-Atlantic USA gardeners.

Video and editing by Taylor Edwards

Audio and text by Kathy Jentz

 

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