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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GardenDC Podcast Episode 29: Butterfly Gardening

This episode we talk with Smithsonian Gardens' horticulturist Sarah Dickert and entomologist Holly Walker about butterfly gardening and Monarch Waystations. The plant profile is on Radishes and I share about the Autumn Daffodils blooming in my garden.

Sarah Dickert, Smithsonian Gardens' horticulturist 

Holly Walker, Smithsonian Gardens' entomologist

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month!
See how at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/support. 

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/September-19--2020---Butterfly-Gardening-ejs8k7

It is also available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AsWArNpQo8OlzHoMDMSI8

• RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/gardendc-G2ql5V

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• Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1502631179/gardendc

• Google Podcasts at this link, either now or soon (note that currently, this link will only work on Android devices)

We welcome your questions and comments!

You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

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Win Passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly Exhibit in our June 2019 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest

For our June 2019 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away five sets of passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD (each set has two passes and is a $16 value).
   The exhibit runs Monday, July 1—Saturday, August 31, from 10am–1pm Monday–Friday; 10am—5 pm Saturday and Sunday, and then, Sunday, September 1—Sunday, September 22, from 10am—5pm daily.
   The Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs, to use as nectar sources to attract butterflies to your own garden.
   Note: The exhibit is in a greenhouse, which is usually 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature and more humid. If there is a thunderstorm in the forecast or a code-red day, the exhibit may close.
   See more details at https://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/brookside-gardens/wings-fancy-live-butterfly-caterpillar-exhibit/.
   To enter to win passes, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5pm on Sunday, June 30, with “Wings” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us which was your favorite article in the June 2019 issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on July 1.

UPDATE:
Our winners picked at random from among the submissions are -

• Howard Clark, Montgomery Village, MD 
• Maria Ibanez, Washington, DC 
• Eileen Schramm, Silver Spring, MD
• Barbara Delaney, Bethesda, MD
• Katie Rapp, Gaithersburg, MD 

Win passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in our April 2018 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest

For our April 2018 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away five sets of passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD (each set has two passes and is a $16 value).
   It runs April 18–June 30 from 9am–5pm, then daily July 1–August 31 from 9am–5pm on weekdays and 9am–5pm on weekends, and finally from September 1–16 from 9am–5pm daily,
   Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs, to use as nectar sources to attract butterflies to your own garden.
   Note: The exhibit is in a greenhouse, which is usually 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature and more humid.
   See more details at https://www.montgomeryparks.org/events/wings-of-fancy-live-butterfly-caterpillar-exhibit/.
   To enter to win passes, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5pm on Monday, April 30, with “Wings” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us which was your favorite article in the April 2018 issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on May 1.

UPDATE:
We have our winners! They are:

~ Anamaria Anderson, Arlington, VA

~ Caity Valley, Washington, DC

~ Stephanie Richard, Rockville, MD

~ Susie Gellert, Laytonsville, MD 

~ Caroline C. Timbers

Each gets a pair of passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD. Congratulations to them all. Have fun and don't forget your cameras!

Video Wednesday: Butterflies Flutter-by

The interns and I visited the Wings of Fancy, the live butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, last week. Here is the video they created from their experience.

It runs daily through September 17, from 10am to 4pm, Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs, that are used as nectar sources, to attract butterflies to your own garden.

   Note: The exhibit is located inside a greenhouse, which is usually 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature and more humid.

   See more details at: http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/wings_of_fancy.shtm.

Win Passes to the Live Butterfly Exhibit in Wheaton, MD

For our May 2017 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away the five sets of passes to the live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD (each set has two passes and is a $16 value).
   Running daily through September 17, from 10am to 4pm, Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs, that are used as nectar sources, to attract butterflies to your own garden.
   Note: The exhibit is located inside a greenhouse, which is usually 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature and more humid.
   See more details at: http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/wings_of_fancy.shtm.
   To enter to win passes, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5pm on Wednesday, May 31, with “Wings” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us which was your favorite article in the May 2017 issue of Washington Gardener and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on June 1.

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens

The Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD, runs daily through September 25, from 10am to 4pm, Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs that are used as nectar sources, to attract butterflies to your own garden.

See more details at http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/wings_of_fancy.shtm.

Every Thursday on the Washington Gardener Magazine blog, we feature a current advertiser from our quarterly print magazine or monthly online enewsletter. To advertise with us, contact wgardenermag@aol.com today. 

Win Passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly Exhibit

For our May 2016 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away the five sets of passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD (each set has two passes and is a $16 value).
   Running daily through September 25, from 10am to 4pm, Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs that are used as nectar sources, to attract butterflies to your own garden. See more details at http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/wings_of_fancy.shtm.
   To enter to win a set of passes, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Monday, May 31, with “Wings” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us which was your favorite article in the May 2016 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address.
   The pass winners will be announced and notified on June 1.

 UPDATE:
Congratulations to:

~ Donna Thuotte Martin. Ashburn, VA

~ Jennifer Whalen, Silver Spring, MD

~ Kira Lueders, Kensington, MD

~ Stephanie Richard, Rockville, MD

~ Jeffrey Trunzo, Takoma Park, MD

They each won 2 passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit!

Win Passes to Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit

For our August 2015 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away the five sets of passes to the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy live butterfly exhibit in Wheaton, MD (each set has two passes and is a $16 value). 

   Running daily through October 25, from 10am to 4pm, Brookside Gardens South Conservatory features live butterflies. Come witness the butterfly life cycle as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies. Learn about the best annual and tropical plants, and hardy shrubs that are used as nectar sources, to attract butterflies to your own garden. See more details at http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/wings_of_fancy.shtm.

   To enter to win a set of passes, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5pm on Monday, August 31, with “Wings” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us which was your favorite article in our August 2015 issue of the magazine and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The pass winners will be announced and notified on September 1.

UPDATE:

The winners chosen at random from among the submitted entries are:

~ Melissa Merideth, Bethesda, MD 

~ Stephanie Richard, Rockville, MD

~ Katie Rapp, Gaithersburg MD

~ Madeline Caliendo, Washington, DC

~ Joletta Humpert, Silver Spring, MD

Congratulations and enjoy the butterfly exhibit!

Washington Gardener Magazine August 2015 issue now out! Inside read all about Local Butterfly Houses, When to Plant Fall Crops, Protecting Your Coneflowers, and much more!

 

The August 2015 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is now out and is posted at: 

http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/washingtongardeneraugust15

This issue includes:
~ Top 5 Local Butterfly Houses
~ Autumn Edibles Planting Chart
~ Your Garden Tasks To-Do List for August-September
~ Neat Little Native Plant: Yellow Star Grass
~ Local Garden Events Calendar for August-September
~ 8 Steps to Reduce Garden Water Usage
~ Curbing a Coneflower Catastrophe
~ 10 Things You Didn’t Know You CAN Compost!
~ Hashtag Mysteries Revealed
 and much more...

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the September 2015 issue are due by September 10. 

Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly publication sent to your inbox as a PDF several days before it is available online. You can use the PayPal (credit card) online order form here: http://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm

Video Wednesday: Wings of Fancy

Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, holds an annual Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly and Caterpillar Exhibit. The seasonal display features hundreds of live butterflies from all over the world.

Native Spotlights: Milkweeds

Guest Blog by Rachel Shaw

It has been a good year in our region for Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). We have had a lot of rain, and they certainly seem to have appreciated it. The plants are lush this year, and quite a few new seedlings have popped up in my yard. (Seedlings are easy enough to pull out if they’ve landed in an inconvenient place.) Although my Swamp Milkweeds certainly appear to appreciate the water, mine normally get little supplemental water, except from the rain barrel, and the plants do well enough up until the end of the summer.

Milkweeds of course are best known for hosting Monarch Butterflies. I wish I would see more of these in my yard; I was lucky to observe one flitting from plant to plant the day I was taking pictures. Swamp Milkweed also attracts a wide variety of bees, wasps, and other insects. The “other” category includes several kinds of insects that find milkweed particularly enticing, such as the Small Milkweed Bug and Large Milkweed Bug. What I’ve mostly seen on mine are aphids of a golden yellow color, which apparently are Oleander Aphids. They seem to cluster on stems late in the season, although they appear to be more unsightly than damaging. 

In addition to Swamp Milkweed, I grow Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) -- one of my all-time favorite native plants. My Butterfly Weed patch remains small, and as these plants seem to come up particularly late in the season, I always wonder if they will reappear, but they have not failed me. I have to say though that it is the Swamp Milkweed that seems most splendidly attractive to pollinators. Both do fine in a modest-sized yard. I have not tried Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), which I understand spreads pretty aggressively and probably is suited to more spacious areas. 

About the author:

Rachel Shaw focuses on vegetable gardening and growing native plants in her small yard in Rockville, MD. She blogs at http://hummingbirdway.blogspot.com/

This guest blog post is part of a monthly Native Plants series posted around the 10th of each month. Rachel is taking little hiatus from this monthly column in order to focus on some family matters. WE anticipate that this series will return in mid-summer.

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