June Perennial of the Month-Butterfly Weed

My husband loves orange. I knew this going in, but married him anyway.

We’re not just talking about the random orange shirt or fun socks… we are talking everything from his car down to the hangers his orange shirts hang on in our closet.

I am not an “orange” person. In the garden, I prefer the cool pastels, not the blistering-hot colors that seem to make St. Louis summers even hotter. However, I have allowed orange to creep into my life…in small doses. This includes the kitchen, the basement “man-cave,” and yes, even the garden.

Unfortunately, the one orange plant I really, REALLY want to grow-butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, refuses to thrive in my garden. My husband suspects this is on purpose, of course. I argue that perhaps our soil is too rich, or our shade is too deep. Perhaps the neon-colored butterfly weed is intimidated by pastels…either way, I have tried to lure the “non-plant-geek’ Handsome Hubby into the garden with this plant numerous times, only to watch it die a long, painful death.

Lesson learned.

Butterfly weed is a native PRAIRIE plant. Not a shade garden plant. Not a moist, poorly draining soil, or rain garden plant. It loves high, dry, and full, FULL sun, where it can happily grow 12-30” and spread up to 2’. And when it’s really happy, the popsicle-orange blooms show it from late spring through the end of summer. These are followed by fun, upright seed pods that release hundreds of seeds that float away on a breeze by their white, fluffy floss or pappus when they open.

The name butterfly weed suggests that it attracts butterflies, which is true, but other pollinators adore the plant as well, including hummingbirds. The plant gained greater popularity amid the ongoing movement to increase Monarch Waystations for their migration.

What I love about this plant;

-It’s native!

-Colorful, long-blooming flowers

-Showy seed pods

-Bird and pollinator friendly, especially monarchs, which feed and lay eggs only on Asclepias species.

-Deer tolerant.

-Drought-tolerant.

What’s not so great;

-Will not tolerate shade or poorly drained soils.

-Aphids can be a problem, but spraying for them can harm monarch caterpillars and other beneficial insects. Plant larger masses and learn to live with them.

-Does not transplant well due to a large taproot. Choose your location wisely, and leave it be.

-Comments or questions? Email Garden-Lou at gardenloustl@gmail.com

Words and photos by Jo Batzer

© Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com-2026, All rights reserved.