Butterfly MilkweedÂ
Asclepias tuberosa
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 3a-9b  Find Your Zone
Plant Type:Â Perennial
Height at Maturity:Â 24-36″
Width at Maturity:Â 12-24″+
Spacing:Â 18″ for mass plantings; 48″+ for space between plants
Spacing:Â 18″ for mass plantings; 48″+ for space between plants
Growth Habit / Form:Â Upright, Mounding
Growth Rate:Â Fast
Flower Color: Â Orange
Flower Size:Â 2 to 3″ diameter clustersÂ
Flowering Period:Â Late Spring through Summer
Flower Type:Â Single
Fragrant Flowers:Â Â No
Foliage Color:Â Deep Green
Fragrant Foliage:Â No
Berries:Â Â No
Berry Color:Â No
Sun Needs:Â Full Sun to Part Shade
Water Needs:Â Â Average
Soil Type:Â Â Clay (amended), Loam, Sand (amended), SiltÂ
Soil Moisture / Drainage:Â Well-drained moist to Wet
Soil pH:Â 6.0 – 7.5 (Moderately Acid to Slightly Alkaline)
Maintenance / Care:Â Low
Attracts:Â Visual Attention, Butterflies, Hummingbirds
Resistances:Â Disease, Drought, Dry Soil, Heat, Humidity, Insect, Rabbit
Description
If you love orange colored flowers, it doesn’t get any better than this easy-to-grow North American native perennial plant. Asclepias tuberosa, commonly known as Butterfly Weed or Butterfly Milkweed, produces abundant clusters of brilliant, true orange flowers over a long period from late spring through summer. The flowers are a nectar source for many types of butterflies and the leaves are a must-have food source for monarch butterfly larvae (caterpillars). Other pollinators and hummingbirds also visit the flowers. Following the flowers are seedpods that are valued for their use in dried flower arrangements. Likes a moist but well-drained to dry soil.
2017 Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of The Year
Landscape & Garden Uses
Growing 24 to 36 inches tall and 12 to 24 inches wide, Butterfly Weed is ideal for use as an accent, in grouping or mass plantings, or as a border along paths and walkways and perennial borders. It is ideal for use in moist areas of the landscape but will also tolerate drier sites. A fine addition to butterfly gardens, bog gardens, perennial gardens, cottage gardens, and purple theme gardens.
Suggested Spacing:Â 18 inches apart for mass plantings;Â 4 feet or more for space between plants
How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area
How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?
Growing Preferences
Butterfly Weed is exceptionally easy to grow and care for. It grows best in a consistently moist of average fertility and full sun to part shade. Too much shade and flowering will be diminished. At least 4 hours of direct sunlight per day is suggested for best flowering. Plant with the top of the root ball even with ground level. Care and maintenance are minimal. Feed in spring with an organic plant food.
NOTE: Click on the Planting & Care Advice tab on this page to find important and helpful tips from our experts.Â
Plant Long & Prosper!
Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff
Questions? Contact Us!

























Reviews
There are no reviews yet.