Butterfly Weed Seeds

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Description

Butterfly weed is a species of milkweed

The perennial plant of the year 2017

Why can't all wildflowers be as beautiful, bright, and hardy as Butterfly Weed? Big orange flowerheads burst into bloom in summer, attracting every butterfly in the neighborhood to your garden and stealing the show with color so rich it almost glows. The foliage is lovely, too, extending this asclepias beauty beyond bloomtime.

As its name suggest, this plant grows as effortlessly as a weed—just direct sow the seeds in fall or early spring and wait for the show. (It will bloom in late summer the first year from a spring sowing, then get onto its regular early summer-til-frost schedule for all subsequent years.) The flowers are bright orange, held upright in flattish clusters 3 to 4 inches wide. Filled with nectar, they are manna to butterflies and other pollinators.

And the blooms are only one of this Native American perennial's merits. The flowers are followed by ornamental seedpods, which can be picked and dried for indoor arrangements or allowed to remain on the plant, where they will burst open and scatter seeds for new Butterfly Weed plants.

Reaching about 2 to 3 feet high and wide in any sunny spot, this asclepias species is open-pollinated and famously easy to grow in any soil type or climate. Hardy from one end of the country to the other, it doesn't mind heat, humidity, drought, cold, salt spray, or poorly fertile soil.

Long-lived and lush, this perennial may become your all-time favorite. It is the Perennial Plant of the Year 2017, but for most of us, it's a winner every season. Strongly recommended.

Details

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Genus Asclepias
Species tuberosa
Zone 3 - 9
Bloom Start to End Early Summer - Late Summer
Habit Upright
Plant Height 24 in - 3 ft
Plant Width 24 in - 3 ft
Bloom Size 1 in - 2 in
Additional Characteristics Award Winner, Bloom First Year, Butterfly Lovers, Cut-and-Come-Again, Direct Sow, Easy Care Plants, Ever Blooming, Flower, Free Bloomer, Heirloom, Long Bloomers, Pest Fighter, Rose Companions
Bloom Color Orange
Foliage Color Dark Green
Light Requirements Full Sun
Moisture Requirements Dry, Moist,  well-drained
Resistance Cold Hardy, Deer Resistance, Disease Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Heat Tolerant, Humidity Tolerant, Pest Resistant
Soil Tolerance Clay, Normal,  loamy, Poor, Sandy
Uses Border, Containers, Cut Flowers, Everlastings, Outdoor, Wildflowers
Restrictions *Due to state restrictions we cannot ship to the following:
Canada

Product Review Summary

Based on 1 review
The average rating for this product is 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 5.0/5.0

Customer Reviews

March 29, 2019

Stellar-- just follow the directions

This shopper rated the product 5 out of 5 stars

I find that seeds grow when you take care to attend to the directions. I had FULL germination with these-- and I had to end up giving many of them to neighbors and friends. So, ensure that with this, as with all seeds, you read the packet and then... enjoy the results.

Melissa Mannion from KS

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