A LITTLE MORE LIFE
Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa
Unlike butterfly bush, this native milkweed feeds monarch caterpillars as well as nectar-seeking butterflies.
MAKE IT FEEL AT HOME
A spot to thrive.
Much smaller than a butterfly bush; plant a group for a similar splash of color. Needs drainage.
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry soil / Average moisture
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft tall · 1–1½ ft wide
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 3–9
- Garden role
- A butterfly border
ONE GOOD SWAP
Instead of butterfly bush.
Buddleja davidii
Try butterfly weed for a butterfly border.
Compare plantsNATIVE TO YOUR PLACE
Find it in your state guide.
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Dig a little deeper.
Photo credits & licenses
Butterfly weed: Cathy DeWitt · CC BY 4.0
Butterfly bush: Jim, the Photographer · CC BY 2.0
Resized, converted to WebP, and cropped in the layout. Each photo retains its listed license. All photo credits