Sun/part shade; an herbaceous perennial with yellow orange and red flowers spring through frost. It attracts monarch butterflies as well as many aphids and ladybugs. Monarchs use milkweeds exclusively for their eggs, and as larval hosts for their caterpillars; it’s been suggested that they evolved on this plant. If you’re using tropical milkweed to attract monarchs, be aware that growers’ pesticides can be lethal to your caterpillars. Shop for milkweeds that have been grown without pesticides.
Best practice: cut tropical milkweed back after Halloween and keep it pruned until February. This prevents overwintering monarchs that will get ravaged by disease pathogens and then spread it to others.
Expect milkweed to be heavily grazed by caterpillars and aphids, especially in autumn; this is a part of a natural cycle, so resist the urge to spray pesticides on your insects.Â
The monarch butterfly's Mexican host plant.
