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Wendy Brister grew up gardening, went on to college to learn more about plants, and is now – in a variety of ways - sharing with others the horticulture knowledge she has spent her life learning. Brister is an adjunct faculty member at Harrisburg Area Community College specializing in herbaceous plants. She is a consultant, lecturer and a landscape designer. She holds a BS in Landscape Architecture from Temple University Ambler. The self-described plant geek, with a special affection for perennial plants, lives in Eastern York County with her husband Brian, daughter Emma and her dog, Clinger.
Diggin' the Natives; Butterfly Weed
by Wendy Brister · June 8, 2010
We had a very weird Spring, with everything blooming at once – so when I saw the Asclepias tuberosa or Butterfly Weed in full bloom this weekend I wasn’t terribly surprised. Then I looked at the calendar and realized it was the second week of June – where did Spring go this year?
Intense orange flowers against dark green foliage give you nothing to complain about on this plant. The flower clusters are flat topped, allowing butterflies a nice place to land and feed. While Butterfly Weed attracts butterflies, I love it for attracting caterpillars and aphids (yes I said aphids).
Monarch caterpillars love to feed on the foliage of Ascleipias tuberosa and they are so cool to watch – just don’t plant this too close to your patio or you get the fun task of sweeping caterpillar poop off your patio! And the aphids, they swarm all over the seed pods of this Asclepias before they open and the color is super cool. I know, generally we don’t like aphids, but these are neat to look at.
Butterfly Weed has been known to self sow around my garden, mainly because I allow it. The seed pods are like little green candles that open to a fluffy white seed. To prevent self seeding, just dead head after bloom is over. Not only will you prevent the seeds from forming, but many times you get re-bloom as well.
Asclepias tuberosa does tend to emerge late in the spring, so don’t worry if you don’t see it right away – it will return….. Average soil, full sun, dry to medium moisture. Be sure to plan carefully where you will plant this lovely as it forms a taproot, which makes transplanting difficult. Hardy 3-9. 12-24” tall.