Asclepias Species, Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Pleurisy Root

On Sep 25, 2020, hamptons from Watermill, NY wrote:

Ugh! I planted a full grown plant last autumn. It came back this year, looked healthy & had caterpillars on it. Then the caterpillars disappeared and one of the branches hardened, curled turned light green, then yellowish, then black. I tossed it away, but the rest of the plant also became black & slimy & whatever disease it had spread to my verbena & killed them, too. Never had this happen with any other plant. I’m done with it.

On Sep 2, 2019, BostonPlanted from Boston, MA (Zone 5b) wrote:

One of my all time favorite flowers and I don't usually prefer orange flowers. Just a bright happy ray of sunshine in the garden. If you have sandy soil, this is your friend. Thrives in sun and sandy loam. No fertilizer, no supplemental watering. Monarch caterpillars all over them, so many they sometimes eat the plants nearly leafless but they still come back the next spring! Bees and butterflies love the flowers. Multiply every year by seed. I plant the seedlings everywhere sandy and sunny. They look amazing with blue flowers like nepeta and with grasses. Last plant to come up in spring... don't forget where you planted them.

On Oct 18, 2016, djohn1996 from Zephyrhills, FL (Zone 9b) wrote:

Sorry I can't find how to delete a post, but just found out that the plants I have are Asclepias Curassavica, not Asclepias Tuberosa.

On Jan 23, 2016, JBtheExplorer from Southeast, WI wrote:

This plant is a 10 out of 10. I've started Asclepias tuberosa from seed the past few years and have had nothing but success from them. I have 12+ now, and plan on at least doubling that number this year. They need dry to average soil, and a decent amount of sun. It seems to be a 50/50 chance on whether or not they'll bloom the first year. This plant is easy to keep control of. It doesn't spread underground the way other milkweeds do. The only way this plant spreads is by seed, and that can be easily maintained. The seedpods take about three months to fully develop, so you have plenty of time to cut them off if you choose to. You can also keep them on and collect the seeds when they ripen. This plant also has the brightest orange flowers I've ever seen, even on cloudy days. Even the foliage... read more of this plant looks nice. If you plant a group of them, they'll form a bush-like clump that looks amazing when in bloom. I absolutely recommend this plant, especially for those in the Monarch Butterfly's range. I found 22 Monarch caterpillars on my plants last Summer. Note: you may likely see aphids take over, but they don't cause true harm to the plant.

On Aug 14, 2015, californiagardener from Walnut Creek, CA wrote:

Just got it and love it but HOLY crap..the aphids! (they actually look really cool but I'm afraid they will destroy the plant)

On Nov 29, 2014, LizaR from Gap, PA wrote:

I grew these from seed several years ago. They are very easy to grow from seed. Here in zone 6 they are late to come about in spring, usually sometime in May. They take 2-3 years to become fully established and bloom profusely. But to me they have been worth the wait. I planted them in front of some heavenly blue morning glories that climb all the way up and over my roof each summer. The contrast of bright orange against the bright blue is stunning.
I was advised by a few experienced gardeners that this plant is, at some point, usually attacked and infested with aphids. You can leave them for the ladybugs to eat or wash them off with a soapy water mix. I tried to blast them off with just water and that did not work after several attempts.
I have the orange variety a... read morend it is doing fairly well as long as it stays in a dry area. It does not at all like being in constantly moist and especially wet areas.
I also use this as a cut flower. It lasts well and the bright orange blooms are very attractive.

On May 23, 2014, MaryArneson from Minneapolis, MN (Zone 4b) wrote:

I have started A tuberosa from seed in the past, but it had died out in my garden several years ago, so this year I decided to try again. Some seeds that I tossed onto an undrained flower tub and left under a snow bank, then allowed to drench in spring rain managed to germinate better than the ones I fussed over.

On May 14, 2014, bobbieberecz from Concrete, WA wrote:

bjrailey: Howdy neighbor! I'm also from Concrete and have the much shorter yellow form of this flower (it also comes in a taller 3 ft. yellow form that is too tender for our area). Your post is dated March----way too early up here for these plants to poke their heads through the soil. It's at least late April in an early year, and last year it was into May. I just returned from the Nursery yesterday on the hunt for more of the short yellow variety and they said they won't have them ready until later June because of the slow start (they said that last year as well). They did have a lot of the orange and a few of the pink in 2 inch pots. I wanted the orange but was cautioned that they are prone to root rot in our winter rains and usually don't make it. So I got the pink which is "mor... read moree hardy and less prone to root rot". Give it a little more time. My established yellows popped above the soil late April. I cut mine to the ground every fall. I'm trying to get them to reseed from the spent flowers, but have had only minor luck. My soil is sandy loam and some of the info states these flowers like soggy wet conditions. That'll never happen in my garden. The new pink will be a test this year. Good luck and happy gardening!

On Mar 17, 2014, bjrailey from Concrete, WA wrote:

Hi everybody! This is my first post. I need your help. At this time I have 2 of these plants and I just love them. I just need to know if I was supposed to cut down the plant for winter? It is almost Spring, and these poor babies look deader than a door nail! I have read all the comments, and most in my zone (8) say they come back, but no one mentions cutting what look to be dead limbs and trunk? If there is any one that can help me I sure would apprieciate it.

On Sep 21, 2013, Siirenias from Oak Park, CA (Zone 9b) wrote:

This is a native to the dry clay of Conejo Valley near Los Angeles, CA.

I just wanted to note that this should do just fine in dry clay.

Also, I recently had the opportunity to watch a Monarch Butterfly lay its eggs on an A. tuberosa. It wasn't flowering, so I don't think the flowers are what attract fertile females.

They do look pretty scraggly when the stripey caterpillars have their way with the plants, but people usually buy the plants for the caterpillars, not the narrow, simple leaves.

On Jul 6, 2013, esilver from Orillia,
Canada wrote:

I am trying to support Monarchs ...
I have plot of asclepias that is now three years old, and I have yet to see a monarch butterfly come near it. There never seem to be many monarchs in our area. This year I had a huge amount of flower heads about to bloom, but it seems that something has eaten them. There are no bugs on the plants but the flower heads look like they have been chewed off. It happened last year too. Will monarchs still be attracted to milkweed if they have no flowers? What could be eating them? I'm thinking possibly racoons or groundhogs are eating the flower heads. If so I will move them and fence them off next year, but could it be birds eating them? If so I give up....

On Feb 22, 2013, saskboy from Regina, SK (Zone 3b) wrote:

love this plant for the color of the flowers and the sturdiness of its structure. It blooms for a long time and needs no special care. It is somewhat drought tolerant and needs to be in well drained soil to thrive. the more sun you can give it, the better it will bloom. Aphids do seem to love it, but other than spraying them off with a hose, I dont do anything else, the aphids seldom do any major or permanent damage. Ive had monarchs lay eggs on this plant and had the pleasure of seeing them hatch into beautiful butterflies--that alone is worth growing them for.
keep in mind that these plants are quite late to emerge in the late spring. dont despair -- they dont come up until late may here, but make up for lost time very rapidly. Overall, I would have to classify these as being mor... read moree useful in the wildflower or rustic garden than in formal beds and borders.

On Sep 16, 2012, cartoongrower from Pinehurst, NC wrote:

I work in a garden center and a few years ago a client donated a Mexican Butterfly weed, Asclepias curassavica, from which I have sold plants from its cuttings for the past three seasons. As for APHIDS which love this plant, I use a heavily diluted solution (10 to 1) of Seargent's tick and flea shampoo to control them. I'm sure any flea shampoo would work. I spray the day I first see them...they love the most tender parts of the plant (new growth which can be in several areas of the plant). My experience is that aphids congregate just below the blooms and on the underside of the leaves below the bloom. The small offshoots on the plant are also very tender and often have tiny leaves whose undersides are covered with aphids.
The next day after spraying, the golden colored aphids will ... read morebe dead and black. I spray them off the plant for looks and to be able to monitor improvement. It takes about three weeks of treatment every time they show up but eventually they move on until the next time they appear.
The plant and the pollinators that frequent it are well worth the trouble.

On Jun 28, 2012, Barrysewall from Larsen, WI (Zone 5a) wrote:

Does this plant roots enjoy less moisture or ?

Please let me know....
Barry

On Apr 11, 2012, cougarvamp45 from Bridgeview, IL wrote:

I planted 4 of these last year, without knowing much about the plant. Only 1 came up, it was under a rose bush, & didn't get enough sun. It remained small, but I did get some beautiful orange blooms on it. I'm giving this a neutral rating, because it's spring, & I don't see any signs of any of the 8 Milkweed plants I planted last year. Are they slow to emerge, or did they die off?

On Oct 22, 2011, SueDuffy from San Antonio, TX wrote:

From a sm. 3" pot planted early this spring in full sun, these lovely flowers have spread to several locations in my gardens. This fall the are home to dozens of Monarch butterflies, but more importantly, the Monarch catepillars which I visit every morning. In prior years, Monarchs have zeroed in on my parsleys, eating them to the nub. I am thrilled at this butterfly host. Small small plants transplant quite easily, and I've gathered the seeds to share.

On Jun 14, 2011, sonoranpoet from Cave Creek, AZ (Zone 9b) wrote:

3rd season in zone 5b, Salt air and tough exposure and lousy sandy soil and these plants love it. Might not get as tall here as some other places but makes a lovely cutting for bouquets and fall interest. Easy to miss coming out of the ground initially...be careful how you rake early in the spring. I planted these in a (loose) triangular array of about 12 and they are striking in July and part of August

On May 14, 2011, runnerboy713 from Westborough, MA (Zone 5b) wrote:

Great butterfly plant, with additional autumn interest with the seed pods. Sometimes nursery bought plants haven't survived for me, but given an ideal location and care during their first year, they will thrive.

On Apr 2, 2011, WoodsGrower from Ashville, OH wrote:

I found this plant growing wild in our local area, and the striking orange-yellow flowers impressed me so much I waited until the seed pods matured and gathered seeds. The first attempt to plant them failed, since I had not stratified them with the cold they needed to sprout. Later success has yielded several dozens of plants on my 1.25 acre lot. It is gorgeous, and attracts monarchs by the dozen when in full bloom. I allow the butterflies to lay their eggs and do what they will with the plants, since monarchs do seem to be in decline recently.

If aphids attack in force, do a search for Ladybugs, and arrange situations that attract and hold them to your yard and garden area, We have a large Ladybug population locally, and when the aphids appear, so do the Ladybugs, who make ... read moreshort work of them, eating hundreds a day. You can buy dormant Ladybugs, but will need to provide an environment that will hold them in your yard. If you buy some, release them on a cool and cloudy day, since on warm days they will likely just fly away after release. Several of the tiny wasps predate aphids as well, and they can be purchased also.

Every year I get aphids on my tomato plants, but with a week or two the Ladybugs and wasps decimate them, and they are not a problem for the remainder of the season.

On Mar 8, 2011, mountainman72 from Broomfield, CO wrote:

If you love Monarch Butterflies then you should know that their populations were estimated to have been cut in HALF in 2010 due to harsh Mexican winters, destruction of habitat, and pesticides! There are easier ways to control pests in the garden with plants like strongly scented marigolds or borage.The butterfly weed is native in CO and it's also the mainstay of the Monarch butterfly diet. Not only is it one of few plants the Monarch eats, but it's the ONLY plant that the monarch butterfly lays its eggs on. Wouldn't it be cool to see monarch caterpillars in your garden? I read a comment below about problems with aphids on these plants, I sure hope they weren't seeing butterfly eggs and mistakenly thought they were aphids. If they were indeed aphids here is a handy little website that teac... read morehes us how to attract beneficial insects with plants (like ladybugs that eat aphids by the hundreds).
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/04-26/beneficial-insect-n...

Also, here is an article about how to repel pests outright with naturally pest-repelling plants http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/pest-control-plants

12 more days until spring!

On Oct 19, 2010, kmm44 from Dayton, OH wrote:

I hope this doesn't get double posted. I was editing another before this and it disappeared.
I rescued some orange milkweed from the next yard when new owners were going to grass everything over. It thrived from the first day and 3 yrs later I divided it into 4 smaller clumps and transplanted them in 4 different places, two here in Dayton OH and two at my weekend home in St. Marys OH. They have thrived and bloomed all summer as before. I also have tall swamp milkweed that blooms pink and milkweed vine, which can be invasive, but I leave some for the Monarchs. This year some of the milkweed vine bloomed on a trellis with my sweet autumn clematis and they looked very nice together. I think the original orange clump was just so happy to be rescued that it rewarded me with its flow... read moreers, lol.
The aphids I get are very late in the season and I usually prune back the infested stems.

On Oct 3, 2010, sadele from Sag Harbor, NY (Zone 7a) wrote:

I have 4 plants with about 25 seed pods on them. Several of the pods are cracking open now, with some of the seeds already sprouting in the pod! Have never seen that before. Leaves & pods have some mildew (very dry summer, lots of rain the past couple weeks) (NY Long Is.) but seeds and sprouts are fine.

On Aug 22, 2010, nwelsh from Downers Grove, IL wrote:

This is my second year with the plant and the first season for blooms. The flowers were very nice, but I (like many others) have aphids are ALL over the plants.... it does not seem to be harming the plant (other than it looks at little gross). I was happy to see a few caterpillars too. I'm guessing when there are more caterpillars, the plant may look a little ragged.

I don't want to spray anything since I do have butterflies and caterpillars, and bees all over these plants. I think instead I will just change the location for this plant. When visitors are waiting at the front door, the aphid infested plants are in full view. I think the caterpillars will increase and so I will just have raggedy, aphid infested plants. Also the number of bees on the flowers does alarm... read more some people. The bees don't bother me, but a couple of times I have opened the door to someone in a panic. :)

That said I am still keeping the plant, but I plan to sow the seeds from the in a place further away from my pathway. This way I can still view (and support) the butterflies, without the plant being all that visible.

On Apr 26, 2010, Montana2955 from Oshkosh, WI wrote:

Butterfly Weed is one of my favorites and love it, but this year it sure looks like it is dead. Hopefully it will revive, but so far I am very disappointed.

On Aug 8, 2008, cedar18 from Lula, GA (Zone 7b) wrote:

I noticed a large patch had been mowed by the county when it was still blooming. Now, probably 6 weeks later, the plants are all up and blooming again! They managed this in all the weed and grass competition. I plan to cut mine back next year as others have mentioned here. This patch was mowed probably to 4 or 5" from the ground.

On Jun 21, 2008, violentfemmexx1 from Cincinnati, OH wrote:

my sister had butterfly weed in her garden and i asked her to dig me up some. she told me that they do not transplant well. i bought seed packets from meijer and started them off using jiffy peat pellet greenhouse. they did well in the peat pellets but when i did transplant them into their new and permanent home, half of them died. very hard to transplant. start them off from seed where you want them to end up.

On Aug 6, 2007, peachmcd from Durham, NC wrote:

I have three plants grown from seed, no blooms yet but the posts above give me faith that next year will be a showstopper. There are already Monarchs fluttering by. The aphids don't hurt the plants a bit, but I hose them off when I do my weekly watering. I've planted a patch of dwarf tithonia cultivar close-by that's coming into bloom now (8/6, 7b), and am hoping to have a nice patch of Monarch-bait, and seeds to save for next year's crop.

On Oct 6, 2006, kqcrna from Cincinnati, OH (Zone 6a) wrote:

I wintersowed seeds last winter. Germination rate wasn't that high, but those that germinated grew to about 10 or 12 inches and bloomed in their first summer. Very pretty!

Karen

On Jun 13, 2006, SummerSun06 from Townsend, MA (Zone 5b) wrote:

I am not a big fan of orange flowers in m garden but this is one of the few that I have to include. It is trouble free and reliable. Butterflies really do love it. A must-have in butterfly gardens that are lacking in plants for caterpillars to feed on. Raised beds and sandy soil work great for me.

On Nov 11, 2005, chnall from Dallas, TX wrote:

I transplanted my asclepias tuberosa in August after 3 years in the wrong spot. I got as much of the tap root as I could. I cut it back by about 1/3. All the leaves fell off but it got new growth from the base and has a bloom on it. I have had trouble with aphids on my curassavica but none on my tuberosa until I moved it to the back with the curassavica. My curassavica got to about 6' in height and when it finished blooming, I cut it back to about 3 feet. It is blooming and again. Next year I will pinch it back to make it branch and cut it back after blooming. My lantana and butterfly weeds are the bright spot in my garden at this time of year.

On Jun 28, 2005, JaxFlaGardener from Jacksonville, FL (Zone 8b) wrote:

It self seeds easily. I started with one plant and now have about a dozen after one year. The seedlings can be transplanted without too much shock if you identify them early and move them to simailar growing conditions.

On Mar 8, 2005, maggiemoo from Conroe, TX (Zone 9a) wrote:

Don't sweat the aphids, that's one of the great "uses" of this plant! It does attract aphids, but the aphids don't hurt the plant. In return, the aphids stay off your roses and everything else, and they attract beneficials, such as ladybugs. Since I've had some of these in select areas of my rose bed, I've haven't seen even a hint of aphids on my roses!

They not only attract butterflies, especially Monarchs, they are the larval food of the Monarch butterfly - so leave those beautiful caterpillars be!

If you don't want them to re-seed, simply cut off the seed pod before it opens. My experience has been that the seedlings are easy enough to pull if they aren't where you want them to be.

I really love the flowers, so this plant is a hard "worker" i... read moren my garden - great looks, easy care, bug control, and butterfly nursery/attractant!

On Nov 10, 2003, suncatcheracres from Old Town, FL wrote:

Try planting this plant with Tithonia rotundifolia (a perennial often grown as an annual that self sows) as A. tuberosa provides food for the larval stage of Monarchs, but Tithonia, or Mexican Sunflower, provides nectar for the adults, and Tithonia's spectacular orange-red flowers attract the Monarchs to your garden in the first place.

I recently saw the two plants growing together in a lovely garden in Gainesville, Florida, and the plants were covered with butterflies. Their orange/yellow flowers go well together, and the usually taller Tithonia, to about six feet, looked nice behind the shorter Butterfly weed. There are also shorter cultivars of Tithonia that would look good mixed with the Butterfly Weed. And I think if they were planted all mixed together, the uneaten ... read morefoliage of the Tithonia would somewhat hide the unsightly eaten-down foliage of the Butterfly Weed once the Monarch caterpillars had finished with it.

As for the orange colored aphids, a good spray with the hose, or just wiping them off with some damp paper towels, will do a lot to diminish their numbers. They never seem to actually harm the plants, but I don't like to see them in my garden either, so I try to get rid of them, rather than get rid of the plants.

On Oct 29, 2003, onalee from Brooksville, FL (Zone 9a) wrote:

Butterfly Weed is very prone to yellow oleander aphids - it pretty much comes with the territory. Some farmers use milk weed to draw aphids away from their crops. You can't spray insecticide or you will defeat the purpose of the milkweed - to raise Monarchs (among others.) I simply use a tissue and wipe them off from time to time, but they really don't hurt the plant or the caterpillars that I've found.

This is the first year I've had a butterfly garden, and I've raised 4 generations of Monarchs off of it this summer! A couple of weeks after one batch of caterpillars was gone, another would appear - always in groups. Make sure you get your seed pods EARLY in the year - my plants never bloomed again after June because they were constantly being eaten up - but I didn't mind... read more because I loved watching the butterflies!

I planted Mexican Sunflower in with the milkweed to draw the adults to the area - it was a huge success! If you want Monarchs, you have to have milkweed and you have to let them eat it!

On Aug 19, 2003, mom2cats from Moorestown, NJ (Zone 7b) wrote:

I love this plant, as do the butterflies and bees. It grows easily in my garden with absolutely no "help" from me. That's a great plant in my opinion!

On Nov 14, 2002, jkom51 from Oakland, CA (Zone 9b) wrote:

Vigorous growth, beautiful next to gentian sage, but just could not keep the aphids off it! Every three days they were back again no matter what I used. Finally uprooted it and tossed it out. My garden consists of numerous small beds, many different individual plants together -- this has been the only plant suffering such heavy insect infestation.

On Jan 4, 2001, lantana from (Zone 7a) wrote:

Grows in Heat Zones 10-2.