Bloom Color

Interesting Notes

Butterfly weed is a 2' tall herbaceous perennial that dies back in winter and re-sprouts from its underground tuber each spring. The brilliant orange or red flower clusters appear in midsummer. These are followed by attractive green pods that open to release silky "parachutes" to drift away on autumn winds. Butterfly weed is unique among milkweeds in that the sap is not milky and the leaves are not opposite. Many flowers have an inner whorl of petals, called the corolla, and an outer whorl of sepals, called the calyx. These are the showy, colorful parts of a typical flower. The milkweeds are special: they have a third whorl above the corolla called the corona. Butterfly weed is a trouble-free perennial that will come up year after year in the same place without crowding its neighbors. Plant butterfly weed in mixed borders, meadows and natural areas. Butterfly weed is slow to emerge in spring, so you may want to mark where they are. Floridata tuberosa = tuberous, having fleshy underground stems bearing minute scale leaves, each of which bears a bud in its axil and is potentially able to produce a new plant Dictionary of Botanical Epithets

Growing and Maintenance Tips

Given its habitat, you can see that it needs no coddling. Best located in a sunny dry spot, but will tolerate average to moist garden soil as well.