Rain Garden Plants: Butterfly Weed

Long-lasting, small, flat-topped clusters of flowers. Alternating lance-shaped, dark-green leaves. Stem is hairy. Unlike most members of the milkweed family, butterfly milkweed does not have milky sap. Mature plants have a long taproot reaching 1 foot or more, making it drought tolerant. In early fall, 3- to 6-inch-long seed pods split and open, spreading hundreds of seeds. Great nectar plant for hummingbirds, many butterflies, and other insects. Larval host plant for the monarch butterfly. Deer resistant.

• Height: 18 to 24 inches
• Bloom color: Orange
• Bloom time: June to July
• Hardiness zone: 3 to 9
• Salt tolerance: Tolerant of occasional salt spray
• Spreading habit: Self-seeds freely; mounded; dies back each winter and resprouts from tubers in late spring (slow to emerge)

Site Conditions

• Sun: Sun/partial shade
• Soil: Well-drained/dry; neutral to alkaline
• Hydrologic zones: Dry; drought tolerant

Sources

The Morton Arboretum

Northern Neck Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society, “Salt Tolerant Northern Neck Native Plants”

Prepared by Jessica Chou, Jodi Sulpizio, and Constance Schmotzer.

For a printable PDF version of this article, contact Jodi Sulpizio at jrb143@psu.edu.