butterflyweed.jpg
butterflyweed.jpg

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias Tuberosa)

$4.25

Core Characteristics

  • Appearance: Grows in clumps 1–3 feet tall with stiff, hairy stems and narrow, lance-shaped leaves.

  • Blooms: Features flat-topped clusters of vivid orange (occasionally yellow or reddish) flowers from June through September.

  • Wildlife Support:

    • Host Plant: Essential food source for Monarch, Queen, and Grey Hairstreak butterfly caterpillars.

    • Nectar Source: Highly attractive to bees, hummingbirds, and various butterfly species.

Gardening & Growth Tips

  • Light & Soil: Requires full sun (at least 6 hours daily) and prefers well-drained, sandy, or gravelly soil. It is highly drought-tolerant once established due to its deep taproot.

  • Planting:

    • Patience: It is often late to emerge in the spring—sometimes not until late May—and may take 2–3 years to bloom from seed.

  • Maintenance: Once established, it should not be moved; the deep taproot makes transplanting very difficult and often unsuccessful.

  • Deer Resistance: Generally ignored by deer because its leaves contain bitter cardiac glycosides.

Core Characteristics

  • Appearance: Grows in clumps 1–3 feet tall with stiff, hairy stems and narrow, lance-shaped leaves.

  • Blooms: Features flat-topped clusters of vivid orange (occasionally yellow or reddish) flowers from June through September.

  • Wildlife Support:

    • Host Plant: Essential food source for Monarch, Queen, and Grey Hairstreak butterfly caterpillars.

    • Nectar Source: Highly attractive to bees, hummingbirds, and various butterfly species.

Gardening & Growth Tips

  • Light & Soil: Requires full sun (at least 6 hours daily) and prefers well-drained, sandy, or gravelly soil. It is highly drought-tolerant once established due to its deep taproot.

  • Planting:

    • Patience: It is often late to emerge in the spring—sometimes not until late May—and may take 2–3 years to bloom from seed.

  • Maintenance: Once established, it should not be moved; the deep taproot makes transplanting very difficult and often unsuccessful.

  • Deer Resistance: Generally ignored by deer because its leaves contain bitter cardiac glycosides.