24-36" tall, 12-24" wide.
24-36" tall x 24-30" wide. Blooms from June through September. Another option is butterfly milkweed or whorled milkweed. Excellent cut flower. The red and yellow blooms of tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, are ubiquitous in North Florida butterfly gardens. Butterfly weed, common milkweed, and whorled milkweed should be spaced at least 18 inches apart. Asclepias, commonly known as butterfly weed or milkweed, is a plant monarch butterflies need to survev, because it is the only food source that monarch caterpillars will eat. • Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) - has rose-purple flowers. Threatened and Endangered Information: This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Click on a place name to get a complete protected plant list for that location. Grow milkweed plants in your garden for colorful, fragrant and nectar-rich flowers that attract pollinators of all sorts. Butterfly weed is a member of the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae). There was a significant parabolic (opening up) relationship between milkweed height and the presence of eggs (milkweed height: β = −0.47 ± 0.07, z = −6.35, p < 0.001 and milkweed height 2: β = 0.29 ± 0.04, z = 7.96, p < 0.001; Table 2), suggesting that eggs were preferentially laid on short (regenerating) and tall milkweed, but not milkweed of intermediate heights. Butterfly Milkweed is a perennial plant with a deep root system. Similar species: • Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) - has rose-purple flowers. family, Nymphalidae (order Lepidoptera). Monarch butterflies have suffered a severe population decline and you can help provide habitat for them during their migration by growing milkweed. The majority of species are found in both Old and New World tropics. Learn how to plant milkweed, get care tips and recommendations for which types to grow. This tough perennial helps out monarchs, and the flowers are a great nectar source for many other pollinators. Attractive and neat (height 2-3' width 1-2'). Planting milkweed is the most effective way to help because it is the only plant that sustains a monarch through each of its life stages. Height: Up to 3 feet. Nashville Natives specializes in native plants for native ecosystems and native butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators. It is showing up now along old country roads and abandoned roads and abandoned railroad right-of-ways. Butterfly weed does not transplant well due to its deep taproot, and is probably best left undisturbed once established. Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa L.)By Larry Stritch. For the purpose of helping Monarch butterflies, you should plan to plant in groups to make it easier for the butterflies to find the milkweed. Asclepias tuberosa, or butterfly weed, is a hardy perennial that blooms summer into fall. Make it a goal to include a few plants of at least one native milkweed type to help the monarchs. It makes a fantastic garden plant with a long bloom season and an eye-popping color you don't see in many species. A monarch chrysalis hangs from the leaf of common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca.This is the stage in the life cycle where the caterpillar changes to a butterfly. Butterfly Milkweed (Ascleipias tuberosa) is found throughout the Tallgrass Prairie region in open areas, usually in prairies or remnants of prairies. Milkweed seeds have a tuft of long silky hairs attached to one end, which is the seed dispersal mechanism. Some authorities consider this group to be at the family level (Danaidae). What Is Butterfly Weed? By planting milkweed in your own garden, landscape and throughout your community, you can help reverse the fortune of these beautiful insects. Garden Use & Maintenance: A stunningly showy wildflower with a long bloom period. Meet twelve of the most ornamental milkweeds native to different parts of the country. Blooming from early through late summer, this fragrant beauty has a deep-reaching tap root that should not be disturbed. Common milkweed plants grow to about 2 to 4 feet in height, with a thin, vertical growth habit. Swamp milkweed will eventually form a large clump and is best spaced 2-3 feet apart. Plants are also easy to grow from seed but can take three years before the first flowers appear. Butterfly milkweed, a perennial wildflower also known as Asclepias, thrives in meadows and along roadsides, but they’re also terrific in flower beds too. The most famous member of our native milkweed family, and a well-known magnet for butterflies, Butterfly Weed prefers fast-draining, gritty soil and exposure to full sun. Media Marketing/Shutterstock A monarch butterfly lands on a swamp milkweed plant. Despite growing naturally in swamps and wet meadows, ‘Soulmate’ also performs well in average garden soils. Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) are considered the … Other common names: Butterfly Weed, Pleurisy Root Family: Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae), (Milkweed Family (Asclepiadaceae)) Group: Milkweeds Distinctive features: Orange, milkweed-like flowers. Common names are from state and federal lists. Soil: Well-drained, poor, dry, usually rocky or sandy soil. Milkweed is a lovely wildflower and the sole host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. Milkweed butterflies are now classified as the subfamily Danainae within the family Nymphalidae; however, the previous family name Danaidae is still occasionally used. Maine. Nashville Natives Fairview, Tennessee. Taxonomy. A breeze can move the seeds quite a distance and kids find the "floating seeds" fascinating. So much so that it was voted the 2017 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association. It’s going to be tough to find this in garden centers but you can easily collect seeds, cold stratify them, and get them started for next year. The genus name Asclepias is named after the Greek god of medicine Asklepios. A host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars, the flower is a favorite for many other butterflies as well. Provenance: NJ A polyphagous insect, the Curve-tailed Bush Katydid (Scudderia curvicauda), was observed to feed on the leaves of this This is a specialized, niche-adapted milkweed species. Noteworthy Characteristics Asclepias tuberosa , commonly called butterfly weed, is a tuberous rooted, Missouri native perennial which occurs in dry/rocky open woods, glades, prairies, fields and roadsides throughout the State (Steyermark). The first option is the native common milkweed we all know. According to an ARS and Iowa State University study of nine milkweed species native to Iowa, female monarch butterflies laid eggs in all nine milkweeds, but the swamp and common milkweed averaged the highest number of eggs. https://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/plant/Asclepias-tuberosa Tropical Milkweed Monarch Butterfly Favorite. As the main food source for the beloved monarch butterfly caterpillar, milkweed has seen a huge resurgence in popularity as of late. Butterfly Milkweed is easiest to establish as a young plant but due to its large taproot, mature plants of Butterfly Milkweed are not easy to move. ‘Soulmate’ blooms a deeper rose color than other swamp milkweeds and is a prolific bloomer. Requires no maintenance, but insists upon well-drained, dry, coarse soils or will succumb to diseases. Clear (not milky) sap. Height: 2′ – 3′ Blooms: June – August. Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant.It is in the genus Asclepias, the milkweeds.This species is native to southern Canada and of much of the conterminous eastern U.S., east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies. Milkweed butterfly, (subfamily Danainae), any of a group of butterflies in the brush-footed butterfly (q.v.) butterfly milkweed Legal Status. If you are looking to feed monarchs in a garden, you should consider one of the common, easy-to-grow species such as swamp milkweed or common milkweed. The species name tuberose refers to the tuberous (knobby and with swellings) roots. May 23, 2019 - Orange milkweed // Asclepias tuberosa // Height: 1-2' // Width: 0.5-1.5' They both tend to bloom earlier in the season, especially the butterfly milkweed. Butterfly Milkweed is the preferred host plant of the preceding moth (see Yanega, 1996; Betz et al., 1997; Wagner, 2005). Butterfly Milkweed - Asclepias tuberosa - Height: 2 feet - Width: 1-2 feet - Growth: Upright Wildflower - Taproot - Flowers: June & July - Color: Orange - Native: Kansas & Missouri - Sun: Full to Partial Sun - Soil: Dry to Medium - Wildlife Benefit: Nectar Source & Larval Host Plant for Monarch Butterfly Very easy to grow from seed. It has good drought tolerance and prefers well-drained sandy soils. Sun: Part sun to full sun. Planting Milkweed (Asclepias) is essential to creating a habitat for the beloved Monarch butterfly's survival, as they are the only plants on which Monarch caterpillars will feed. Light Requirements: Full sun Water Requirements: Medium Soil Requirements: Average, can grow in sandy soil Host Plant For: Monarch, Queen, and Soldier butterflies butterfly weed. Once established, Butterfly Milkweed will self seed if … Blooms: orange, June to September. Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a native herbaceous perennial whose main virtue is its appeal to butterflies—especially the monarch, which deposits its eggs on the milkweed.When the caterpillars hatch, they feed on the leaves of milkweed. s Tropical milkweed Asclepias curassavica is one of my two favorite in the milkweed family of plants because..... Monarch's favorite plant in my garden for egg-laying. Also known as: Butterfly Flower, Silkweed Zone: Zones 3-9 Plant Type: Perennial Height: 3-6 feet, has been known to achieve 8 ft. in some areas Plant Spacing: 24-36 in. Region in open areas, usually in prairies or remnants of prairies that location also is a hardy perennial blooms. Best left undisturbed once established also is a perennial wildflower native to a large portion North... 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