ORANGE BUTTERFLY WEED
Orange Butterfly Weed receives a standing ovation for it’s show stopping ability to capture attention with the bright orange show it puts on when in full bloom!
ORANGE BUTTERFLY WEED
Orange Butterfly Weed receives a standing ovation for it’s show stopping ability to capture attention with the bright orange show it puts on when in full bloom!
Asclepias, also known as milkweed, is one of my favorite species and with over 150 different varieties to choose from you’re bound to fall in love with at least one of them! But just like with any species, you have to get to know it before you can truly fall in love!
A few things to consider when planting milkweed:
A few things to consider before planting milkweed:
- Find out what species of milkweed is native to your region.
- The pollinators milkweed attracts is just about unmatched! You’ll have birds, bees (the good kind) and various kinds of other pollinators!
- Milkweed also attracts many other insects like milkweed beetles, aphids, lady bugs, lacewings, ants and more.
- Find out what species of milkweed is native to your region.
- The pollinators milkweed attracts is just about unmatched! You’ll have birds, bees (the good kind) and various kinds of other pollinators!
- Milkweed also attracts many other insects like milkweed beetles, aphids, lady bugs, lacewings, ants and more.
LADYBUGS
MILKWEED BEETLES
APHIDS
ANTS
LACEWINGS
LACEWING EGGS
MILKWEED BEETLE
LACEWING EGGS
LADYBUG
LACEWING
ANT
BLUE MILKWEED BEETLE
APHID
TIP: Plant several milkweed in different places and the aphids will congregate to one main plant, aka the sacrificial plant (aren’t all native plants sacrificial plants hmmm…).
Whatever you do, don’t use pesticide to get rid of these “pests” because what you use to kill the aphids will also kill the monarch caterpillars and the other pollinators. So just settle right now in your mind that you LOVE asclepias and the colony of insects it hosts. Now there’s nothing stopping you from falling in love with everything milkweed!
Bonus!
Whatever you do, don’t use pesticide to get rid of these “pests” because what you use to kill the aphids will also kill the monarch caterpillars and the other pollinators. So just settle right now in your mind that you LOVE asclepias and the colony of insects it hosts. Now there’s nothing stopping you from falling in love with everything milkweed!
My Favorite Milkweeds!
Some of my favorite milkweed is butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa), tropical milkweed (asclepias curassavica), swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata), Harry Balls (gomphocarpus physocarpus) and believe it or not…common milkweed (asclepias syriaca).
Yes, common milkweed is one of my favorites because it’s aggressive and not invasive (there’s a big difference). I like that it’s determined to grow no matter how hard you try to rid your landscape of it. It’s like it knows it has a job to do and nothing’s going to stop it, which is probably why you’ll find its sneaky little runners popping up new stalks randomly in your yard.
So, before planting this one in your well manicured landscape, you may want to consider the better behaved milkweeds like swamp and tuberosa!
Hosting Butterflies…
Milkweed is a host plant for the Queen Butterfly, Tussock Moth, and of course, the Monarch Butterfly larva. It also serves as a nectar plant for Karner Blues aka Melissa Blue (I prefer Melissa Blue to Karner! Heehee 😀) Spicebush, Giant, Pipevine and Tiger Swallowtails as well as hummingbird moths and so many more.
Whats Your Favorite Milkweed?
Drop a comment and picture (if you can) in the comments and let me know! Oh and don’t forget to register your milkweed in our Million Milkweed Challenge!
