Asclepias tuberosa

With brilliant orange flowers like the flames of a prairie fire, butterfly milkweed harkens back to its grassland origins. Bold color but modest stature (1-3’) make this plant especially versatile in the garden, where it works well in the foreground or as a short patch between taller plants. Within its native NE Ohio range, butterfly milkweed can be found in open habitats such as fields, meadows, and roadsides. Preferring full sun and dry to moderate moisture, this long-lived perennial’s showy blooms will enliven the garden year after year. The plant has very good drought tolerance and requires well-drained soils, so avoid planting it wherever water occasionally pools.

The plant’s pollinator value is exceptional and its foliage is consumed by monarch caterpillars. Butterfly milkweed blooms fairly early in the season (June – July), producing flowers that are a favored nectar source of the Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly. Planting a patch of butterfly milkweed will increase the plant’s apparency on the landscape, making it easier for butterflies and other pollinators to find it.

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