Scientific Name: Asclepias tuberosa
Common Name: butterfly bush
Native Range: Eastern and southern United States
Zone: 3 to 9
Plant type & Form: Herbaceous perennial
Height: 1.00 to 2.50 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Yellow/orange
Flower: clusters (umbels) of bright orange to yellow-orange flowers
Fruit: prominent, spindle-shaped seed pods (3-6″ long) which split open when ripe releasing numerous silky-tailed seeds for dispersal by the wind
Leaf: narrow, lance-shaped leaves
Sun: Full
Water: Dry to medium
Soil type & pH: Does well in poor, dry soils
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden
Tolerates: Deer, Drought, Erosion, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Identification notes: Look for orange flowers with hairy stems. Unlike many of the other milkweeds, this species does not have milky-sapped stems.
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