Butterfly Milkweed – Native Plant of the Day 06/23/2016
Photo from 06/27/2010. Location: Walker County, GA. More photos / info at the
Asclepias tuberosa detail page.
Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Pleurisy Root, Orange Milkweed – Asclepias tuberosa
NPOD 01/30/2011, 06/29/2011, 01/30/2012, 01/30/2013, 06/10/2014, 06/23/2015
The milkweed plant is the host plant for Monarch Butterflies and is therefore required by Monarch butterflies for reproduction. The adult butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed and when the caterpillars hatch they feed on the plant. If you want to attract tons of Monarchs to your yard then plant some milkweed. Here is some information about milkweed.
Found a small stand of this wildflower in one of our fields that is due to be developed. We have a friend who wants to transplant it to where he has his bee hives. Does it transplant okay? It doesn’t seem very invasive. We’re in Columbus, GA.
Sorry, I’m not a gardener, so I don’t know how well it transplants. I’ve never heard anything about it being difficult to control – more that folks want to grow it. Since this site is scheduled for development, I commend an effort to attempt transplant it. If that fails, your friend might be able to find young plants at a nursery that carries native plants. The Georgia Native Plant Society maintains a list of “native nurseries” on their website – https://www.gnps.org/resources/Native_Nurseries.php
– gcw
I applaud your efforts to save this sturdy and beautiful native plant. I’ve heard the taproot can be very brittle and easy to break. I’ve never transplanted this wildflower, but was able to grow it from seed from the original plant I bought from a nursery several years ago. The seeds are planted in a mix of compost and sand in part shade/part sun next to a gravel alley. I water them 3 times per week or so (depending on the weather). They have spread and done very well. Even surviving several brutally cold winters.