Butterfly weed is a tough, long-lived native milkweed with brilliant tangerine orange flower clusters for about three months from early through late summer. Plants occasionally show red or yellow tones. It was named Perennial Plant of the Year in 2017.
The nectar-rich flowers feed monarchs, other butterflies, hummingbirds and bees, and the leaves host monarch caterpillars. Stems cut well for bouquets, and the seed pods open to silky white fluff that is nice in dried arrangements. It loves sun, handles drought and is left alone by deer.
What it looks like
Flat-topped to rounded clusters 3 to 5 inches across of many small, star-shaped flowers in vivid tangerine orange, held at the tops of upright stems. Leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, slightly hairy and medium green, densely lining the stems. The plant is a bushy, upright clump about 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide. At peak bloom the plant is covered in bright orange clusters, often with butterflies. Narrow, upright seed pods follow.
Growing it with lavender
Butterfly weed thrives in the same hot, dry, well-drained ground as lavender, and its tangerine orange clusters make a bold complementary contrast with purple lavender through the summer.
Care
Grow in full sun in lean to average, well-drained soil; it is very drought tolerant once established and does not like wet winter soil. Hardy in USDA zones 3-9. Mark its spot, since it is late to emerge in spring, and avoid moving it once planted because of its deep taproot; deadhead the first flush for a second round of blooms.
At a glance
-
Botanical name: Asclepias tuberosa
-
Flower color: Tangerine orange
-
Foliage: Medium green
-
Growth habit: Bushy, upright clump
-
Mature size: 24 in tall × 24 in wide
-
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
-
Light: full sun
-
Bloom start: Mid-June
-
Peak bloom: Mid-July
-
Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
-
Deer resistance: Resistant
-
Pollinator value: Excellent
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly. This plant grows a deep taproot: plant it promptly in its permanent spot, avoid moving it later, and expect it to emerge later in spring than most perennials.
Shipping note: Deep taproot resents disturbance and it breaks dormancy late in spring, so dormant plants can look lifeless on arrival.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
