Quercus

Butterfly Milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

Orange flower clusters rise above narrow foliage on this drought-tolerant milkweed.

Care

  • Avoid wet, poorly drained soil.
  • Established plants are best left undisturbed.
  • Optional bloom tip: Removing spent flowers can encourage more blooms.
Care sources
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Asclepias

  • Danaus plexippusMonarch
  • Cycnia collarisUnexpected Cycnia
  • Cycnia teneraDelicate Cycnia, Dogbane Tiger Moth
  • Euchaetes egleMilkweed Tussock Moth or Milkweed Tiger Moth
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Pygarctia spragueiSprague's Pygarctia Moth
  • Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
Show all 13
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
59BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Asclepias

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Asclepias

  • Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
Flies 2
  • Scepsis fulvicollis
  • Spallanzania hesperidarum

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 7
  • Anosia plexippus
  • Argynnis cybele
  • Papilio asterias
  • Phyciodes tharos
  • Pontia protodice
  • Speyeria idalia
  • Strymon titus

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 5
  • Ammobia ichneumonea
  • Priononyx atrata
  • Priononyx thomae
  • Sphex nigricans
  • Sphex procera

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Apocynaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–9b
Flower color
Orange, yellow or red
Growth rate
Slow
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

Flower color. Usually orange to yellow-orange; yellow forms and yellowish to vermilion tinges are also recorded by the source. Source

Preferred light. Prefers full sun. Partial shade is a recorded tolerance, rather than the preferred flowering condition. Source

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Leave its deep taproot undisturbed. Avoid wet soil; seed-grown plants may need several years to flower. NC State Extension

Growing sources and scope

Recognizing it

Narrow leaves spiral along upright stems. Unlike many milkweeds, its sap is clear. Identification source

Also known as

Butterfly Milkweed

Conservation status

Kentucky rankNot available
Global rankG5
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources