Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa L.
Also called butterfly weed, butterfly milkweed.
Bright orange milkweed for dry, sunny sites and a monarch butterfly host plant. Long-lived once its deep taproot is established.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 0.5–0.8 m (1–2 ft) tall and 0.5–0.6 m (1–2 ft) wide; slow growth, about 4 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.12) from the #1 install size.
Bloom
Orange flowers, Jun–Aug (northern-hemisphere months; timing shifts with region and season).
| Plant | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfly weed : Jun–Aug |
Design notes
- Emerges late in spring — mark its spot so it is not dug up.
- Deep taproot: plant young plugs and do not divide or move.
- Aphids are common and do no lasting harm; avoid insecticides on milkweeds.
Regions
Native range: Most of the U.S. east of the Rockies and the Southwest.
Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
Related plants
Plan with Butterfly weed
Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.