Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Asclepias tuberosa, more commonly known as Butterfly Milkweed, is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America. It is commonly known as Butterfly Milkweed because of the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar! It is also a larval food plant of the Queen and Monarch Butterflies, as well as the Dogbane Tiger Moth, Milkweed Tussock Moth, and the Unexpected Cycnia.

This plant favors dry, sand or gravel soil, but has also been reported on stream margins. It requires full sun.

Most easily propagated by seed. The primary pollinators by volume, are bees and wasps, despite being mobbed by butterflies, and being known as Butterfly Weed..

Sown outdoors after frost, the plant will flower and produce seed in the third year.

It is difficult but not impossible to transplant once established, as it has a deep, woody taproot.

Plant Details:

USDA Zones: 3-9

Germination Needs: 30 Day Cold Stratification

Life Cycle: Perennial

Sun Exposure: Full to Partial

Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry, Dry

Plant Spacing: 1-3 feet

Height: 2 feet

Bloom Time: June, July, August

Bloom Color: Orange

Advantages

Pollinator Favorite: butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, beetles

Bird Favorite: seeds, insects, fruit, nectar, nesting, perchs.

Deer Resistant: Yes

Excellent in the home landscape! 

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Packet quantities:

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All of our native seed is hand reared, hand picked, and hand packed from native prairies under our exclusive management, never breaking chain of custody from the field until it is sent to you. Each packet is hand prepared for shipment by us, directly.

Small seed species will contain greater than 20-25 seed

Large seed species will contain greater than 10-15 seed

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