Butterfly Milkweed:  1/2 Gallon $10.99

A tough, drought-tolerant native with intense orange flowers in mid to late summer. Attracts many varieties of butterflies and is especially attractive to Monarchs. A beautiful solution for a dry sunny slope! Occurs in dry fields and roadsides in most of the US.

Long-lasting, bright orange flowers and a low mounded profile make Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) one of the most popular milkweeds. True to its name, Butterfly Weed attracts legions of butterflies and is an important host plant for Monarch and Queen butterflies. Unusual among milkweeds, its leaves are alternate and it lacks the typical milky sap.  This rugged species thrives in sunny locations, in dry sandy soil or well-drained loam.

The charismatic and imperiled monarch butterfly requires milkweed plants in order to survive. Monarchs migrate into the eastern U.S. from Mexico in spring to lay their eggs on milkweed species plants. Caterpillars hatch from the eggs and consume the milkweed plant foliage as food for growth and development. Mature caterpillars will search for a nearby, sheltered location to enter the pupal stage and form a chrysalis. Inside, they will complete metamorphosis and emerge as an adult butterfly in around 2 weeks. Flower nectar is consumed by adult butterflies as a valuable food source. The 4th or 5th generation of monarch butterflies that emerges in August-September will migrate into Mexico to overwinter as adults. Significant declines in monarch butterfly populations in North America over the course of the 21st century are believed by many experts to be caused by a reduction in milkweed due to widespread use of herbicide-tolerant row crops, climate change, and loss of overwinter sites due to habitat destruction.

Help support monarch butterflies and plant this native species of milkweed.

100% Deer Proof

Full Sun 

Height: 2’

Dry - Medium Soil

Blooms:  June-Aug

Zones 3-10