Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Even with so many beautiful wildflowers blooming at the same time, Butterfly Weed still manages to stand out and steal the show with its incredibly vibrant beauty. It’s a true prairie icon, with bright orange flowers and contrasting narrow, dark green foliage  Despite the name, it’s not weedy at all and won’t freely roam like Common Milkweed can. Butterfly Weed thrives in hot, dry soils where many other plants would give up, blooming for weeks and drawing butterflies like a magnet. More compact than most milkweeds, it’s perfect for the front of a bed or weaving through prairie plantings. If you’re looking for a native plant that works hard and looks great doing it, this is it.

Growing Conditions
Light: Full sun
Soil: Dry to medium; prefers sandy or well-drained soils
Height: 1–2.5 feet
Spread: 1–2 feet
Zones: 3–9
Bloom time: June through August

Wildlife Value
Butterfly Weed is a host plant for the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), providing critical food for its caterpillars. It also supports the Queen butterfly, and attracts a wide range of native bees, skippers, and other butterflies. Its long bloom time and flat flower clusters offer easy access for pollinators of all sizes. Resilient, beneficial and wildly beautiful, Butterfly Weed checks every box.

Keystone plants support an outsized number of pollinators and wildlife compared to other plants.

Blooms Alongside: dotted mint (Monarda punctata), prairie coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata), rough blazing star (Liatris aspera), hoary vervain (Verbena stricta), purple cone flower (echinacea purpurea), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), leadplant (Amorpha canescens).