Butterfly Weed Plant

As low as $19.99 was $24.99
Availability: In stock
SKU
BLYWED

Award-Winning Blooms Butterfly Weed Plant

  • Perennial of the Year Award Winner
  • Bold Orange and Yellow Blooms
  • Native Forb is Host Plant for Monarch Butterflies
  • Nectar-Rich Butterfly Magnet
  • Attracts Beneficial Pollinators, Too
  • Easy to Grow
  • Low Water Requirements Once Established
  • High Performance in Poor and Dry Soils
  • Tolerates Frigid Cold and High Heat
  • Deer Resistant

Don't miss out on some of the showiest native flowers! Named the Perennial Plant of the Year, Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) brings the heat to your naturalized plantings.

Also known as Tuberosa Butterfly Weed, you will brighten up the look of your Butterfly Gardens with its Incredible yellow and orange flowers. The display of flower power lasts for months, and will rebloom if you trim older blooms for indoor cut flower arrangements.

This "weed" is actually one of the most valuable choices we have to support our magnificent Monarch butterflies. They count on this Tuberosa Milkweed variety as a host plant to feed the caterpillars..and the broad, flat blooms pump out plenty of nectar each season as a food source.

Butterfly Weed is a native flower that is common in the wild over most of America and half of Canada. It provides food and shelter for many species of butterflies.

Each flat flower umbel is composed of up to 25 tiny true flowers. Trust us, they'll produce much more nectar than their petite size suggests.

You'll relish several months of these marigold and saffron-colored blooms. Butterfly Weed definitely brings the heat with their charmingly intricate flowers that feature five sepals below five petals.

And nothing brings life and movement to a special landscape scene quite like butterflies, hummingbirds and honey bees flitting around. Plant a few Butterfly Weed plants and see what we mean.

The outstanding blooms float high above the airy, dark green foliage. The main stem starts off unbranched at the base, but divides so that several smaller branches hold up the blooms for a vase-shaped effect.

With a long, strong tap root that can reach down several feet below the surface...they adapt to many soil conditions, including bone dry, thin and rocky. In fact, these fuss-free plants are nearly maintenance free in sharply drained soil.

Super hardy and astonishingly colorful, you can't go wrong with these in your garden. They'll make you smile every time you tour your property.

Order your Butterfly Weed plant from the pollinator plant experts at Nature Hills today!

How to Use Butterfly Weed Plant in the Landscape

Add a standout selection to native plantings in open sunny areas. Incorporate them into your mixed borders, and you'll turn them into effective Butterfly Gardens.

Butterflies adore flowers, and these plants grow into incredible giving resources. Butterfly Weed plants mix beautifully with other natives like Rudbeckia and Coneflower.

Besides their beauty, you can also enjoy the knowledge that you are helping to keep a native wildflower species thriving. Towards that end...why not include Butterfly Weed as a potted plant in seasonal container gardens, too?

Let them grace your balcony for a creative display! These cold-hardy plants may even come back for you next year, especially if you choose a deep pot that has plenty of room for the tap roots to stretch out.

They will resent being transplanted, so in the garden setting, choose their planting site carefully. Enliven a new planned bed on a tough slope with their cheerful color.

Rely on their durability in a rock garden. Remember, this plant likes it tough...so thin soil presents no problem for it.

In fact, the worst place you could plant it would be in rich garden soil that stays a bit damp. Use Butterfly Weed in a forgotten corner where the sun beats down and other plants struggle...and nickname it "Teflon Plant", "Superman", or its old standby "Pleurisy Root"!

This is a great choice for Children's Gardens, too. They love the vivid colors almost as much as the butterflies will!

Watch closely to see Monarch caterpillars inch their way along the slender, lance-shaped leaves. They'll develop into exciting chrysalis and hang from the bottom of the leaves.

In fall, kids love to inspect the dried seed pods that have split open to reveal the brown seeds. You probably remember how fun it was to blow on their silky threads and watch them soar into the air and sail away.

Gift your favorite teacher this special plant. They'll certainly appreciate your thoughtful gesture to help them include living lessons in the plan.

Gardeners who have created an Edible Landscape...whether it be a Victory Garden or an orchard row of Apple trees should consider using this pollinator plant nearby. As beneficial pollinators visit the flower umbels daily for several months, they'll explore the other plants to help pollinate your crops for "Second Summer".

#ProPlantTips for Care

Ensure they receive at the minimum six hours of full sun a day. The more sun, the better the performance!

Water during the first year. After that...these waterwise perennials will become drought tolerant.

Please be patient while the tap root gets established. In areas with freezing cold winter temperatures, they may "disappear" only to delight you once again come springtime for another growing season.

Notice what the new growth looks like as it emerges in your yard. Watch for volunteer seedlings to appear here and there grown from seeds, and carefully move them to expand your planting or give to jealous friends!

Prune in late winter or early spring by cutting the stems down to the crown with the rest of your perennials. If you really don't want to mess with free plants...simply keep the fading flowers trimmed for use indoors as a cut flower without fear of the milky sap found in other Milkweed varieties.

You can also trim the drying seed packets before they split open. Dry these pods to use in showy winter arrangements inside.

What's not to love about this plant? Order Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Weed Plant from us today.

Buying Options for Plants

Nature Hills sells a large variety of plants with several options available. Plants are offered in both potted containers and as dormant bare root without soil. Here is a helpful resource to understand your options as you create a beautiful landscape with help from Nature Hills.

Ever wonder what a larger plant will mean for your landscape? Container Sizes are really all about the age of the plant!

Seasonally, Nature Hills offers hand selected, high quality bare root trees, shrubs and perennials. Bare root plants are sold by height from the top of the root system to the top of the plant. Plants may be taller than the height minimums.

  • Popular sizes of select trees are 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, etc.
  • Popular sizes of select bare root plants is 1 foot, 18 inches, etc.

Nature Hills Container Size by Volume

Keep in mind, specific varieties and different growing conditions can affect the rate at which plants grow. Variations in size may occur.

Young Plants to 18 Months
Size Volume
2"x2"x3" Ranges from .18 to .21 dry quarts / .198 to .23 dry liters in volume
4.5" Container Equal to .65 dry quart / .72 dry liter in volume
Sprinter Pot Equal to .63 dry quart / .69 dry liter in volume
4" Container Ranges from .31 to .87 / .35 to .96 dry liter in volume
6" Container Equal to 1.4 dry quarts / 1.59 dry liters in volume
1 Quart Equal to 1 dry quart / 1.1 dry liter in volume
5.5" Container Equal to 1.89 of a dry quart / 2.08 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x5" Ranges from .8 to 1.1 dry quarts / .88 to 1.2 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x6" Ranges from 1.0 to 1.3 dry quarts / 1.1 to 1.41 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x9" Ranges from 1.1 to 2.1 dry quarts / 1.2 to 2.3 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x10" Ranges from 1.7 to 2.3 dry quart / 1.87 to 2.53 dry liters in volume
Plants 18 Months - 2.5 Years Old
Size Volume
2 Quart Equal to 2 dry quarts / 2.2 dry liters in volume
#1 Container Ranges from 2.26 to 3.73 dry quarts / 2.49 to 4.11 dry liters in volume
5"x5"x12" Equal to 3.5 to 4.3 dry quarts / 3.85 to 4.74 dry liters in volume
Plants 2 - 4 Years Old
Size Volume
#2 Container Ranges from 1.19 to 1.76 dry gallons / 5.24 to 7.75 dry liters in volume
#3 Container Ranges from 2.32 to 2.76 dry gallons / 10.22 to 12.16 dry liters in volume
Plants 3 - 5 Years Old
Size Volume
#5 Container Ranges from 2.92 to 4.62 dry gallons / 12.86 to 20.35 dry liters in volume
#6 Container Ranges from 5.25 to 6.01 dry gallons / 23.12 to 26.42 dry liters in volume
#7 Container Ranges from 5.98 to 6.08 dry gallons / 26.34 to 26.78 dry liters in volume

About Plant Sentry™

Plant Sentry is designed to protect both consumers and the nursery trade from invasive plant pests and diseases. Sites that display the Plant Sentry protection badge are protected from consumers buying and nurseries shipping material carrying invasive pests and diseases.

This proprietary eCommerce software prevents the shipment of a restricted plant to each state. The Plant Sentry system includes a shipment certification program. The Plant Sentry Compliance Officer works closely with NatureHills.com and each nursery or fulfillment center to ensure only compliant plants are sold to customers.

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Shipping

To obtain a more accurate shipment time-frame, simply enter your zip code in the “Find Your Growing Zone” box to the right. Our plants are grown all over the country and lead time on items may be different because of this. Once your order is placed, you will also receive the specific shipment time-frame information as part of your order confirmation. Once an item ships, you will receive shipment notification and tracking numbers, so you can follow along while your plant travels to your doorstep. We use FedEx, UPS, or USPS at our discretion.

Due to winter weather we have put a hold on shipping to the areas shown below in grey. You can still order now and we will ship the plant to you during an appropriate time for your zone.

*If you have found your zone already, it will be highlighted in the table below.
Color Zone Times
3 Spring 2019
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Shipping Rates

At Nature Hills we handle, package and ship the products you order with the utmost care to ensure healthy delivery. Shipping and handling charges are calculated based on the tables below. Please note that some items include an additional handling surcharge, these will be noted on the item's product page.

From To S&H
0 - 19.99 24.99
20 - 49.99 29.99
50 - 69.99 34.99
70 - 99.99 39.99
100 - 129.99 44.99
130 - 149.99 48.99
150 - 150+ Approx 28%

Click here to see our full rates

PLANT HIGHLIGHTS

Butterfly Weed Plant Is Suited to Grow in Zones 3-9
Growing Zones 3-9
More Information
Brand Nature Hills' Choice
Botanical Name Asclepias tuberosa
Type Perennial
Mature Height 2 - 3 feet
Mature Spread 12 - 18 inches
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Soil Well Drained
Moisture Low Once Established
Growth Rate Medium
Foliage Color Green
Pollinator Friendly Yes
Pruning Time Early Spring