Plant Native: Butterfly Milkweed

Plant Native: Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa Height: 18”-24” Spread: 24” Sun: full sunWater: light

This showy native wildflower grows naturally in some tough conditions—upland sandy prairies, open rocky woodlands and roadside embankments. To be successful in the garden, it is best to try to imitate the brutal natural habitat where this milkweed grows. It is a long-lived, trouble-free perennial when planted in dry, welldrained soils on sunny slopes or at the top of a retaining wall. It loves the heat, so it’s slow to emerge in spring. The lance-shaped, shiny leaves are crowded along upright stems, growing into a mound of bright green foliage by early summer. In summer, bright orange flower clusters top the plant, made up of many small star-shaped florets. The showy flowers attract a variety of butterflies, moths and bees. In fall, narrow, gray-green seed pods develop, covered in silky hairs. The pods eventually split open to release the brown seeds, each with silken parachutes to drift away in the wind.

Native plant recommendations from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, plantnebraska.org