Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa L.
Family: Asclepiadaceae (milkweed)
Anna Fiedler, MSU Entomology
Butterfly weed
- Bloom Period:
- Early,
- Growth Cycle:
- Perennial,
- Growth Habit:
- Forbs/Herbs,
- Insect Type Attracted:
- Natural Enemy,
- Pollinator,
- Light:
- Full,
- Partial,
- Region:
- Southern Lower Peninsula
- Soil Moisture:
- Dry,
- Medium,
- Height:
- 2-3ft
Natural enemies attracted
Mildly attractive: Empididae, Thomisidae, Chalcidoidea and Orius insidiosus.
Pollinators attracted
Mildly attractive: bees including sweat bees and bumble bees.
Pests attracted
Mildly attractive: lygus bug, aphids, leafhoppers, froghoppers and root-maggot flies.
Plant notes
Bright, orange flower clusters about 2 inches wide bloom at the top of the plant in early July. This species was one of the least attractive to natural enemies in the mid-season.
Habitat
Butterfly weed grows in full sun to partial shade and very dry to average soil moisture. It is found in fields and along sandy roadsides and is naturally occurring in woodland openings and dry barrens. It is generally associated with dry prairie, pine and oak barrens.
Cultivation and management
This plant can be grown from seed to flowers in the third year, or plug material, flowering in the second year. However, it did not establish well from plugs in our full-sun, average moisture site.