Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Attractive To More Than Just Butterflies

• Hardiness: 3-9
• Height: 24-30″
• Spread: 12-18″
• Exposure: Full Sun
• Bloom Color: Golden Orange

Why We Love It:
A wonderful selection that is perfect for attracting butterflies to gardens. Butterfly Weed has bright golden orange clusters of fragrant flowers that rise above narrow, green foliage during the summer months and into early fall. The flowers are also excellent for cutting!

Know Before You Plant:
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring.

Where It Thrives:
This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden application. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. This species is native to parts of North America.