Asclepias tuberosa - Butterflyweed

Sizes available: #1 (Trade gallon)

Basics: zones: 4-9, 12-30" x 12-24", full sun to high, light shade, orange flowers in flat-topped clusters in mid to late summer, likes very good drainage and can grow in sand, loam, limestone, or clay, drought tolerant once established

Common names: Butterflyweed, Orange Milkweed, Pleurisy Root, Chigger Flower, Chiggerweed

Family: Asclepiadaceae

Origin/Distribution: From Ontario to Newfoundland, New England south to Florida and west to Texas, north up into Colorado and further north to Minnesota. Asclepias tuberosa is native to southern Maine.

Habitat: wooded clearings, hillsides, sandy spots, open and sunny ground

More: A pollinator magnet with a vibrant orange flower. One of the larval host plants for Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. The root has been used medicinally, as one of its common names implies, but is potentially toxic in large amounts. As with Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, aphids are inevitable. Don't worry. The ladybugs will show up to dispense with them. Develops a strong taproot, resents transplanting, and is late to wake up in the spring. Perhaps a good cut flower, either fresh or with the seedpods on, but I haven't tried it yet. Looks good with other full sun, dry land plants such as Nepetas, Russian Sage, Liatris, Coneflowers, and Sedums.

Nursery: Van Berkum

Image credits: Image of entire plant and close up of flower heads by Cathy Dewitt via Creative Commons; example of ripened seeds by Susan Strine - all images downloaded through the North Carolina Extension Gardeners Plant Toolbox