Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa

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Wild butterfly weed is impressive for its bright color in July but is a stunner on a lesser-known count: A plant this large may be 40 or 50 years old. 
 

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A potpourri (below) of butterfly weed/orange glory plant/Asclepias tuberosa information as a supplement to other articles.

A plant-based page rather than our usual topic-based page. It's a pivot point where you'll find one set of links to ours and others' articles that involve butterfly weed/ Asclepias tuberosa. (Go to those links now!)

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Butterfly weed Potpourri

Butterfly weed is one of the longest-lived perennials. Treat it like a peony -- if you give it a good spot you can expect it to be there, still putting on a great show decades later.AsclSeed2655.jpg

Good drainage is a must, as is full sun. Sandy soils are more to its liking than clay based loam but even a predominantly clay soil is a-okay if the drainage is sharp.

This is a member of the milkweed family and as such is a host plant for the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly. So if you see the leaves are being eaten in the second half of summer, celebrate rather than unseat the culprits.

Like all mlkweeds, it is a nectar source for the adult Monarch, and tricks the insects into pollination with a foot-catching trap door routine. Watch a butterfly on an Asclepias flower cluster, to enjoy this ingenious tactic.s.

Right: Butterfly weed seed will blow about and you will find volunteers --  if the site is right.

 

Read more about butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa):

Green Thumbs Up:
   Brilliant orange and red-orange of butterfly weed

Dividing:
     Tap roots

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