Butterfly Flower, Orange Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa A very handsome, easy, and garden-worthy perennial that is a colorful nectar plant for adult butterflies, and the host plant for monarchs in particular. In fact, monarchs cannot survive without milkweeds; their larvae can eat nothing else. Clump-forming, perennial doesn't have invasive runners. Vigorous mounded 2x2' plants bear broad 5" heads of waxy flowers attractive to butterflies and bees. Native to the prairies, and tolerates life amid grasses. Native Americans used roots to combat lung and throat troubles and to soothe wounds and sores. Choose a permanent site with well-drained fertile sandy soil because its tuberous roots do not like to be disturbed. Direct sow in spring or fall. If you are not sowing while the soil is still very cold, put seeds in moist medium in the fridge (not freezer) for 2 weeks, then sow in warm soil. Space 18–24"apart. Known to herbalists as Pleurisy Root. Zones 4-9. 40 seeds