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A showy wildflower that adds bright color to perennial gardens, butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) fills the late-summer garden with masses of brilliant orange flowers. As the name implies, it's irresistible to butterflies. In fact, butterfly weed foliage is the food of choice for monarch butterfly caterpillars. This easy-to-grow perennial is trouble-free, drought-tolerant and thrives in almost any type of well-drained soil.
The bunches of tube-shaped, orange-colored blooms of the butterfly weed or butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) are the reason it is found in modern gardens. But not too many years ago, it was the wide range of medicinal properties attributed to this perennial's root that made it so valuable to Native Americans and settlers alike.
Weeds grow much like any other plant but in areas you don't want them to grow. Washington State University defines a weed as a plant that is a nuisance, hazard, dangerous, competes with desirable plants or a harborer of insects and disease. Understanding the stages weed plants go through helps in managing them correctly.
Butterfly weed is a bushy perennial that grows to about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall. Its flowers grow in flat-topped clusters of yellow-orange to bright orange. As its name implies, butterfly weed attracts butterflies such as the gray hairstreak, monarch and queen. Butterfly weed is susceptible to aphids, but with vigilance the pests are relatively easy to control.
Milkweed bugs are one of the few insects that can feed on milkweed without being poisoned by the toxins it produces. They serve an important function by controlling the milkweed population. However, when you're raising milkweed the milkweed bugs are pests.
A native plant of the plains and prairies, butterfly weed can be found in fields and forests of U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 though 10; an area that encompasses much of North America. The plant blooms from June to July, drawing swallowtails, queens and monarchs to its clusters of colorful, fragrant flowers. The tall, sturdy stems and deep green leaves remain behind after the flowers have faded, adding texture and background color to informal gardens and meadows for the duration of the growing season.
The primary food source for the caterpillar larvae of the Monarch butterfly, the butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), grows as a hardy perennial. A native plant of North America, it grows to a height of up to 2 feet. The plant has strong, hairy stems that display lance-shaped leaves that measure up to 6 inches in length. From early summer into fall, the plant produces vivid orange flower clusters. A wide variety of butterfly species enjoy consuming the nectar of the flowers. After flowering, the plant displays spindle-shaped seed pods that measure up to 6 inches in length. Once established, the…
A butterfly garden provides a pretty show of flowers while also attracting several types of colorful butterflies. Almost any brightly colored flower will attract butterflies, but monarch butterflies are picky. According to Fairfax County Public Schools, the only plant monarch butterfly caterpillars will eat is milkweed. Milkweed also serves as shelter for many kinds of creatures, including American goldfinches and Carolina chickadees.
Butterfly weed is also known as Asclepias tuberosa L., Orange Milkweed and Pleurisy Root. It is an ornamental orange flower with small blooms that is native to the United States. Butterfly weed appears bushy as it grows and is marked by "large, flat-topped clusters of bright-orange flowers," according to the University of Texas at Austin.
Several insects eat the seeds and tissues of milkweed plants without the toxic substances contained in milkweed poisoning them. All of these insects have a reddish-orange color with black markings. The toxins in the milkweed protect the insects by making them taste bad to their enemies, and the red and black coloring warns predators of the bad taste.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) takes its name from the fact that it is the host plant to both Monarch and Queen butterflies. They are attracted to the bright orange flowers produced on the bush in mid-summer to early fall. Butterfly weed, a perennial plant, is easy to grow and tolerates drought. Hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 4a to 10b, the seeds require a 12-week period of cold-moist stratification. The plant forms a long taproot which does not tolerate transplanting, so it is best to start the butterfly weed seeds directly in the garden in August. It may take…
Butterfly weeds are best known for their colorful flowers and foliage that attract butterflies and caterpillars. This plant is considered a low-maintenance, perennial shrub by the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Butterfly weeds are very hardy in USDA zones 4 through 10.
The paper kite or rice paper butterfly (Idea leuconoe) is a large, white and black species related to the common monarch butterfly. Like the monarch, its larvae feed off plants with milky, alkaloid-laden sap, which makes the adult butterflies unpalatable to predators.
Butterfly milkweed produces seeds that can be gathered and sowed in other areas to provide even more plants to attract butterflies. The monarch butterfly, a species that relies on the plants to host its larvae, is often seen flitting about the plant.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is also called butterfly milkweed, orange milkweed and pleurisy root. The stems don't leak sticky, white fluid when broken as milkweeds do. Butterfly weed's roots were chewed by American Indians as a cure for pulmonary problems. Butterfly weed grows wild along roadsides and in fields but it can also be introduced to home gardens. The plant produces a large amount of nectar which attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
Butterfly weed grows as a low, 2-foot-tall shrub. It has attractive green foliage but its clusters of striking orange, red or yellow flowers are the real draw of this plant. The shrub flowers from midsummer through fall, attracting butterflies and other beneficial insects to the garden. Butterfly weed has a long taproot that doesn't handle transplanting well. Starting the seeds indoors helps ensure germination and healthy early growth, but the plant must be transplanted outdoors before the long taproot becomes established.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), also known as butterfly milkweed, pleurisy root and orange milkweed, is a flowering herbaceous perennial that grows on hillsides and in open woodlands in eastern North America. It works well in natural areas and mixed borders.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) can be finicky: It doesn't like being transplanted and it doesn't flower until well established. On the other hand, it tolerates dry conditions and different types of soil. It self-seeds and grows on roadsides and backyards wherever conditions are right. You see the bushes of orange, red and yellow flowers as you drive down the highway from the eastern side of the country in New England all the way to the Southwest. But at home, the simplest is to propagate it from a root cutting.
As its name implies, butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a magnet for butterflies and hosts their larvae, caterpillars. While it's not uncommon to see the leaves mostly (or completely) chewed, yellowing of the leaves may indicate a cultural problem.
Butterfly weed, which has the scientific name Asclepias tuberosa, is a common and very visible plant in eastern North America. Vivid orange flowers appear in clusters during summer at the tips of stems, offering a banquet of abundant nectar to butterflies, hence the common name. In addition to attracting adult butterflies, the plant's foliage also attracts a variety of bugs, including the larvae of monarch and queen butterflies. Another frequent insect visitor to butterfly weed is the milkweed bug.
The pieridae butterfly family consists of more than 700 different species of butterfly. These butterflies are commonly known as "whites" or "sulfurs." They are characterized by their white or yellow wings and large size. Different species of pieridae butterflies and caterpillars are vegetarians. Adult pieridaes usually feed on the nectar of flowering plants, while the caterpillars feed on grasses and leaves. Different species of pieridae butterflies and caterpillars feed on different species of plants depending on their location and which plants are available to them. Pieridae butterflies are located all over the world. There are more than 50 species in…
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a beautiful plant that will draw butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other beneficial insects to your yard. Unfortunately, this plant is also attractive to pests like aphids. If you have butterfly weed in your garden you have probably noticed tiny, orange bugs on your plants. These orange aphids are known as oleander aphids (aphis nerii) or milkweed aphids and are commonly found on butterfly weed and other milkweed plants.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a hardy, drought-resistant perennial that is part of the milkweed family. It grows 2 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide, blooming in early summer to early autumn. Its red-to-orange flowers attract different types of butterflies, including the monarch butterfly. Butterfly weed seeds require a cold period to bloom, which can be achieved by preparing the seeds prior to planting in the summer, or planting in the fall.
Butterfly weed and milkweed are two wildflowers that attract butterflies and are especially attractive to the monarch butterflies who lay their eggs on all species of milkweed. There are several variations of milkweed, and butterfly weed is one of those variations.
Butterfly weed is an herb with bright orange, red or yellow flowers that attract butterflies and is popular in home gardens. Butterfly weed is also called orange milkweed or orange swallow-wart.
Butterfly weed is a beautiful and easy-to-grow perennial that adds color and interest to any landscape with its bright orange flowers and bright green leaves. While butterfly weed is actually part of the milkweed family--which is the primary host plant for Monarch butterflies--this plant provides food for all species of butterfly as well as hummingbirds.
Butterfly weeds, or asclepias, are also known as milkweed and are loved by butterflies. Grow butterfly weeds by exposing them to a hot sun and good drainage with instructions from a sustainable gardener in this free video series on gardening and plant care.
Butterfly weed is a North American native wildflower that blooms in shades of yellow, red and orange.
