Butterfly Milkweed
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Central Texas
Texas
Full Sun
Part Sun/Shade
Very Low
Deer Resistant
Flowering
Attracts Pollinators






About This Plant
Mostly sun; benefits from light afternoon shade. A deciduous perennial growing to a mound 1-3 feet in height. The showy, orange-hooded flowers appear during summer. As its name suggests, it attracts monarch butterflies. However, it’s used more as a nectar plant than a larval host — since it doesn’t contain milky sap, it doesn’t offer protection for monarchs’ caterpillars.
Butterfly weed can be long-lived in well-drained sandy loam – i.e., in amended garden beds. It doesn’t appreciate heavy clay soils. Aphids tend to congregate on milkweed plants in the garden, but they provide food for ladybugs!
Maintenance
Aphids can be cleaned off by cutting back the stems or blasting the plant with soapy water.
Features
This plant goes well with
- Thymophylla tenuiloba var. texana
- Engelmannia peristenia
- Salvia farinacea x longispicata 'Mystic Spires'
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