FoliageButterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a slow-growing perennial, hardy in USDA zones 3-9, that matures to about 1-2.5 ft × 1-1.5 ft. It does best in full sun with low water needs in well-drained, moist and occasionally-dry soil. Expect yellow, orange and red blooms in summer. It attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, stands up well to deer, drought and erosion, grows happily in containers.
- USDA zones
- 3-9
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Low
- Mature size
- 1-2.5 ft × 1-1.5 ft
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- Well-drained, Moist, Occasionally-dry
- Bloom color
- Yellow, Orange, Red
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Attracts
- Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Moths, Pollinators
- Tough against
- Deer, Drought, Erosion, Rabbits, Salt
- Native to
- Eastern and southern United States
In the landscape
Data sources
Freeze survival
Will it survive your winters?
Hardiness zones show a normal bad winter. We check the worst one — Butterfly Weed is hardy to about -40°F (estimated from USDA zone 3), so we'll score it against the real coldest nights your area has actually had.
Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.
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