• 8 years ago
• Posted in:Uncategorized
• 0
• Author: erin boa-brown

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed)

Family: Apocynaceae

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4

Size:

• 24 inches wide
• 24 inches tall

Form:

Soil & Water requirements:

• Dry to average moisture
• Drought tolerant

Exposure:

• Full sun (needs 6 or more hours of direct sunlight)

Leaves:

• Simple, alternate leaf arrangement
• Lanceolate, shinier on top and softer below
• Stems are erect, hairy, and grow in clumps

Flowers:

• Bright orange/tangerine coloured flowers
• Beautiful, showy, unique flowers
• Small flowers born in flat-topped clusters; five petals bending down with five hoods on top, pointing upward
• Three month bloom period; early/mid-summer to late summer/early fall

Maintenance:

• Remove seed pods if you wish to discourage self-seeding

Suitable uses:

• Border planting
• Wildlife planting; particularly to attract butterflies
• Open woodland garden
• Mass planting
• Wildflower or meadow garden
• Cottage garden

Potential pairings:

• Colour compliments: hot pink to purple; blue; lavender

Attracts:

• Monarch butterflies
• Bees
• Beneficial insects

Other:

• Tuberous roots (hence the name ‘tuberosa’)
• Poisonous milky latex sap in the stems and leaves
• Overall, a striking perennial
• Recommended spacing: 38-45cm