The Bright, Bold and Vibrant Butterfly Weed Plant
Cover image of Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
Everything You Need to Know About Growing Butterfly Weed in Your Garden
Don’t let the name fool you - this showy native perennial is a welcome addition to any garden!
Butterfly weed, scientifically known as Asclepias tuberosa, is a vibrant, showy plant native to the sunny meadows, prairies, and roadsides of North America.
This tough perennial, with its fiery orange blossoms, is not just a colorful wildflower. It’s also a lifeline for the struggling monarch butterfly population, providing essential habitat for their caterpillars.
As a low-maintenance, deer-resistant addition to your garden, the butterfly weed plant is both practical and ecologically significant.
If you’re curious about what butterfly weed is and want to discover how to grow butterfly weed, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know, including a comparison of butterfly weed vs butterfly bush, and how tall butterfly weed will get in the garden.
What does butterfly weed look like? An upright, clump-forming plant with orange flowers and pointed green leaves. Asclepias tuberosa image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
What is Butterfly Weed?
Butterfly weed is a type of milkweed plant. It’s a summer-blooming perennial celebrated for its vibrant orange flowers and the important role it plays in supporting the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly.
This tough native plant attracts a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies, while serving as a critical host plant for monarch butterflies. Monarchs lay their eggs on the leaves, which serve as a vital food source for the caterpillars once they hatch.
Beyond its role in supporting wildlife, the butterfly weed plant enhances garden landscapes with its striking color, drought resistance, and ability to thrive in diverse soil types.
When flowering is done, elongated seed pods add visual interest to the plant and release fluffy white seed heads into the wind.
Butterfly weed is a resilient, low-maintenance plant that is incredibly easy to grow when given full sun and quick-draining soil. It has a deep taproot that can stabilize soil and aid with erosion control.
The fiery orange blossoms of butterfly weed are a favorite of bees and butterflies. Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
Butterfly Weed vs Milkweed
You might hear people use the names "milkweed" and "butterfly weed" like they mean the same thing, which can be confusing. They are related, but they’re not exactly the same plant.
Milkweed isn’t just one plant. It’s actually a big group of plants, all part of the Asclepias plant genus.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a member of the Asclepias plant genus and a popular type of milkweed. There are also lots of other milkweed types you may encounter at the garden center, including common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata).
So if you are wondering about butterfly vs milkweed, butterfly weed is a kind of milkweed, but not all milkweed is butterfly weed.
Butterfly Weed vs Milkweed: This collage shows some of the variety within the milkweed genus of plants, from the bright orange blossoms of butterfly weed to the globe-shaped pink flower clusters of common milkweed, to the flat-topped pink blooms of swamp milkweed.
Butterfly weed is a kind of milkweed, but not all milkweed is butterfly weed.
How To Grow Butterfly Weed
Butterfly weed thrives in USDA zones 3–9 and was honored as the Perennial Plant Association’s 2017 Plant of the Year.
To grow butterfly weed successfully, choose a sunny location with well-drained, moderately dry soil. Butterfly weed requires full sun conditions, with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Butterfly weed prefers less fertile conditions and thrives with minimal intervention. Water regularly during the establishment phase to encourage root development. Read “How to Water Your Plants” to brush up on your watering skills.
Once mature, butterfly weed is drought-tolerant and requires little care. Be patient in spring because it emerges slowly, waiting for warmer soil temperatures to leaf out.
Butterfly weed seed pods release fluffy white seeds into the wind. A fun activity kids love - chasing and catching them as they float through the air!
Butterfly Weed Colors
While the fiery orange straight species remains the most popular color for home gardeners, several vibrant cultivars have been developed in recent years:
Asclepias tuberosa, the straight species, has vibrant, fiery orange flowers.
Asclepias tuberosa ‘Gay Butterflies’ offers a mix of orange, red, and yellow blooms.
Asclepias tuberosa ‘Hello Yellow’ showcases bright yellow flowers.
Asclepias tuberosa ‘Western Gold Mix’ has golden-orange flowers and thrives in the alkaline soils of the Western United States.
Asclepias tuberosa ‘Prairie Gold’ has golden-yellow flowers.
The "straight species" of a plant refers to the original, wild form of the plant as it occurs in nature, without any human intervention or selective breeding. The straight species maintains the plant's natural characteristics and genetic diversity.
You can identify the straight species by looking at a plant’s botanical name. It will be two Latin words naming the genus and species. And that’s it.
If the plant’s botanical name is followed by other names in quotations, trademark symbols, or patent names, it’s no longer the straight species. It’s a cultivated variety that has been manipulated in some manner by human beings.
If native plants are important to you and you would like to go a step further in sourcing milkweed, use the Xerces Society’s Milkweed Finder to search for local plants.
Looking for a different butterfly weed color? Hello Yellow butterfly weed has bright, cheerful yellow flowers. Asclepias tuberosa ‘Hello Yellow’ image courtesy of Walters Gardens Inc.
Is Butterfly Weed Deer-Resistant?
Butterfly weed is rated as “seldom severely damaged” on the Rutgers University list of Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance, and makes a great choice for any landscape experiencing heavy deer pressure.
Because of its deep taproot, butterfly weed does not like to be transplanted and is generally not recommended for container plantings.
The deep taproot can aid in erosion control, making butterfly weed a great choice for mass planting on a sunny, dry slope.
How Tall Does Butterfly Weed Get?
If you're wondering how tall does butterfly weed get, the answer can vary depending on the variety. The straight species grows in a clump and reaches about 12 to 32 inches tall. The popular Hello Yellow variety tends to stay around 2 feet tall, while the Gay Butterflies cultivar is a bit taller and can reach up to 3 feet in height.
Keep in mind that height can be influenced by environmental factors. Full sun encourages the best growth and flowering, and other factors like soil composition and moisture may influence where your plants will fall within their typical growth range.
The straight species of butterfly weed grows wild in an open, sunny field in Maryland. It grows up to 32 inches tall.
Landscaping Ideas for Butterfly Weed
Butterfly Garden - Plant butterfly weed along with a mix of other butterfly host plants and nectar plants, such as tall garden phlox (Phlox paniculata), Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum), black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia species), and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). Instead of planting single plants, plant larger groups of the same type of plant in a concentrated area or pattern. This will make it easier for butterflies to locate your garden’s food sources and host plants.
Pollinator Garden - create a dedicated pollinator garden by planting butterfly weed alongside other pollinator-friendly plants like mountain mint (Pycnathemum muticum), bee balm (Monarda species), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), summersweet clethra (Itea virginica), and Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicofolia).
Border Garden - Butterfly weed is a striking addition to any mixed border and can be part of a warm color scheme (red, orange, and yellow colored flowers and foliage) or a contrasting color scheme (purple to blue flower colors).
Children’s Garden - Milkweeds are a magnet for all kinds of insects, caterpillars and butterflies. A patch of butterfly weed makes a great place for children to observe nature up close, with buzzing and flying creatures constantly in motion. They may even spot a chrysalis! Read our Butterfly Garden for Kids article, which includes links to a free butterfly garden design.
Water-Wise Garden - The butterfly weed plant is an excellent addition to any drought-tolerant or water-wise garden. Because it has a deep taproot, it thrives with minimal water once established.
Erosion Control: Butterfly weed is a practical and eye-catching choice for planting on sunny, dry slopes, where its deep taproot helps to stabilize the soil.
Mass Planting: Butterfly weed is a striking choice for mass plantings, where its vibrant orange blooms creating bold swaths of color in the summer.
The bright, fiery orange flowers of butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
Planting Companions for Butterfly Weed
Caradonna Meadow Sage (Salvia nemarosa ‘Caradonna’)
Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
Grand Marshall Bee Balm (Monarda ‘AChall’)
Autumn Joy Stonecrop (Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’)
Phenomenal Lavender (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Phenomenal’)
Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea or Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
New Vintage® Rose Yarrow (Achillea millefolium ‘Balvinrose’)
Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
Summer Beauty Ornamental Onion (Allium lusitanicum ‘Summer Beauty’)
Prairie Dropseed Grass (Sporobolus heterolepis)
Kobold Blazing Star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’)
Large Coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima)
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Shop Must-Have Books for the Butterfly Gardener:
Butterfly Weed Bugs
At first glance, it can be quite a shock to discover just how many bugs are drawn to butterfly weed! The plant’s irresistible nectar and its role as a host plant make it a hub of activity. A milkweed patch is a fun and easy way to get young kids involved in the garden!
Make sure to forego the pesticides and enjoy the array of insects visiting your milkweed plants. Welcoming the bugs, caterpillars, and occasional holes in your plant's leaves are an integral part of gardening for nature. Pesticides harm not only the pests they target but also butterflies and other beneficial garden insects.
Avoiding the use of chemicals in your garden has several other benefits as well - for your health and the health of your pets, for the environment, and for the overall well-being of your garden ecosystem. Learn more about pesticides and their risks from the Xerces Society.
Monarch caterpillars, milkweed bugs, milkweed tussock moth caterpillars, and a diverse array of insect life can be spotted in a milkweed patch.
Visit the University of Wisconsin’s extension to learn more about which insects frequent milkweed plants here.
If you plant it, they will come! Don’t be surprised when your butterfly weed patch becomes a hub of activity.
Butterfly Weed vs Butterfly Bush
When comparing butterfly weed vs butterfly bush, it’s important to understand that despite their similar names and shared ability to attract butterflies, these plants play very different roles in the garden and local ecosystem.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a perennial plant native to North America and a true powerhouse for pollinators. It supports the entire lifecycle of the monarch butterfly - not only offering nectar for adult butterflies, bees, and other pollinators, but also serving as a vital host plant for monarch caterpillars.
Because it’s non-invasive and naturally adapted to local conditions, butterfly weed helps support biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.
In contrast, butterfly bush (Buddleja or Buddleia species) is a non-native shrub originally introduced from Asia. While it does attract adult butterflies with its nectar-rich blooms, it provides no food or habitat for butterfly larvae, meaning it doesn't support the full butterfly lifecycle.
Additionally, butterfly bush is considered invasive in many areas, because it spreads aggressively and crowds out native plants. This disrupts local ecosystems and can lead to a decline in native species and overall biodiversity.
So when weighing butterfly weed vs butterfly bush, butterfly weed is the more eco-friendly and beneficial choice for pollinators and your local environment.
Read “10 Butterfly Bush Alternatives” for some ideas on what to plant to attract butterflies yet keep butterfly bush out of your garden.
A side by side companion of butterfly bush vs butterfly weed.
Butterfly Weed vs Butterfly Bush At a Glance
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa):
Perennial plant native to North America
Supports the entire monarch butterfly lifecycle
Serves as a host plant for monarch caterpillars, providing essential food for their growth
Offers nectar for adult butterflies, bees, and other pollinators
Non-invasive and supports biodiversity in local ecosystems
Butterfly Bush (Buddleja/Buddleia species):
Non-native shrub introduced from Asia
Attracts adult butterflies with nectar but provides no habitat for eggs or larvae
Considered invasive in many regions, spreading aggressively and outcompeting native plants
Can disrupt local ecosystems and reduce biodiversity
