Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
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Deciduous Perennial Slow | |||||||||||
Buy Butterfly Weed | |||||||||||
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Available September 25
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About Butterfly WeedCommonly called Butterfly Weed, this perennial puts out showstopping orange clusters of flowers in midsummer. As you might guess from the name, butterflies (including Swallowtails) love the sweet nectar this plant produces, so swarms of butterfly wings will appear wherever you have this beauty planted. Long slender seed pods burst in the fall sending a seed attached to a fluffy floating through your garden to reseed like a weed. This Asclepias variety is shorter than its cousins and doesn’t have their white, milky sap. It also prefers slightly drier conditions but thrives in full sun, just like the rest of its family. |
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ProsShorter, mounding habit Bright orange blooms Pollinator favorite |
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ConsCannot tolerate shade Aphids and milkweed beetles can be unsightly but tolerable |
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Plant Data | |||||||||||
Mature Size | 12 - 24 inches tall. 12 - 24 inches wide. | ||||||||||
Growth Rate | Full Sun | ||||||||||
Sun Exposure | Full Sun - Full Sun | ||||||||||
Moisture Tolerance | Dry - Medium | ||||||||||
Zones | 3a - 9b (Usually hardy to -40° F) | ||||||||||
Tags | Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Container, Deciduous, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Dry, Erosion Control, Formal Garden, Fragrant Flowers, Full Sun, Good for Borders, Good for Butterfly Garden, Good for Cottage Garden, Good for Cut Flowers, Good for Mass Planting, Good for Rain Garden, Good for Rock Garden, Good for Rocky Soil, Illinois Native, Low Maintenance, Medium, Most Popular, Native to North America, Normal Soil, Perennial, Pond, Prairie Garden, Rabbit Resistant, Showy Flowers, Thrillers, Tolerant of Moist Soil, Tolerant of Poor Soil, Tolerant of Shallow Soil, Well-Drained Soil, Woodland Garden Large Perennials, Summer Blooming Perennials, Yellow or Orange Flowering Perennials | ||||||||||
Bloom Period | June - August | ||||||||||
Flower Color | Orange
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Related Articles |
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Pricing and Availability HistoryClick a label to toggle visibility for that size
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We try very hard to source exactly what you’d like, but sometimes growers run out of plants! While this variety is a great deal at the price shown, we know that it has limited availability. If you want the plant even if it might be more expensive, or in a different size or quantity -- after you place your order, just send us a quick note at help@northshoreplantclub.com. Then, we’ll try to get you some version of this from one of our growers. And if we can’t get it from anywhere, of course, we’ll send a refund!
Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.
Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.
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Membership is free, but — since we rely on delivery and local pick-up — you have to live near one of our hubs (or be willing to drive to a site to pick them up). If you live farther away, and would like to help us bring the club to your neighbors, please email helpusgrow@northshoreplantclub.com.
To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.
Shoot us an email at help@northshoreplantclub.com, and we'll be happy to talk about plants or let you know when it's time to buy them!
We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.
Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!