Grow Native Butterfly Weed for Monarchs: A great milkweed variant for flower gardens is butterfly weed. This is the rationale behind including this monarch host plant in your yard.
Grow Native Butterfly Weed for Monarchs
Native Butterfly Weed Care
Common name: Butterfly weed
Scientific name: Asclepias tuberosa
Growing zones: 3 to 9
Light needs: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining
Size: Two to three feet tall and equally as wide
Is Butterfly Weed a Type of Milkweed?
The family Milkweed includes butterfly weed. This natural milkweed is recommended by the Monarch Joint Venture for gardeners in the northeast, midwest, and southeast.
“I’ve read that the only plant that serves as a host for monarch caterpillars is milkweed. Butterfly weed is what I have, but I don’t have milkweed. I discovered a dozen or so monarch caterpillars chowing down on the leaves. Is this out of the ordinary? inquires Charlotte Hense, an East Troy, Wisconsin reader of Birds & Blooms.
Melinda Myers, a gardening expert, states that monarch caterpillars consume all varieties of milkweeds, including butterfly weed. This type of milkweed grows best in full light and soil that drains properly. Compared to common milkweed, it is much less aggressive, which makes it a viable option for smaller settings. Other varieties that are wonderful options are red, swamp, showy, whorled, and green milkweeds. The Xerces Society offers useful selection guidelines for the optimal milkweed plants in your area.
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Benefits of Growing Butterfly Weed
It makes sense why gardeners would decide to include this plant in their landscapes. This perennial bloom attracts a lot of pollinators. Its stunning orange blossoms last all summer long, making it a popular choice for dried flower arrangements or cut flower gardens. In a meadow environment, it will naturally reseed itself and return year after year, but it doesn’t spread quickly.
It grows in dry, poor soil and even on slopes, and it requires very little upkeep. It can withstand harsh weather conditions with ease and is both cold- and drought-hardy. It’s normally free of diseases and resistant to deer. Because it doesn’t yield as much milk sap as other milkweeds, it’s perfect for gardeners who have pets or sensitive skin.
Does Butterfly Weed Attract Pollinators?
Adding this plant to a garden will probably yield the greatest benefit—an increase in pollinator presence. Natural butterfly weed attracts a lot of beneficial insects! It is a host plant for monarch butterflies and a member of the butterfly milkweed family. It will also attract other pollinators like bees and black swallowtail butterflies.
Butterfly Weed Cultivars to Grow
There are several options available to you when it comes to growing native butterfly weed. It comes in three different forms: seeds, naked milkweed roots, or live plants grown in gallon-sized containers. You can visit your neighborhood garden center or place an online order for plants or seeds.
Gay Butterflies milkweed is one cultivar that you should try (zones 4 to 11). Grown by Monrovia, it features brilliant gold, yellow, and scarlet flower clusters that bloom from mid- to late summer.
There are several options available to you when it comes to growing native butterfly weed. It comes in three different forms: seeds, naked milkweed roots, or live plants grown in gallon-sized containers. You can visit your neighborhood garden center or place an online order for plants or seeds.
Gay Butterflies milkweed is one cultivar that you should try (zones 4 to 11). Grown by Monrovia, it features brilliant gold, yellow, and scarlet flower clusters that bloom from mid- to late summer.
