Driving along the roads of the Northern Neck, one need not look at the calendar to realize that June has arrived. The roadsides and ditches, along with many gardeners’ yards, are ablaze with the brilliant orange flowers of butterfly weed, now at its greatest intensity.
In my childhood, many considered the plant to be merely a weed with pretty flowers, but today it is prized for the beauty of its floral displays, its significant role as a source of pollination for bees and wasps, as well for butterflies, and for hummingbirds and moths.
The name butterfly weed derives from its role as a food source for the larva of queen and monarch butterflies. Butterfly weed is not considered to be an endangered species, but monarch butterflies are listed as highly endangered, thus the plant’s role as a larva food source is vital to their propagation.
The Latin scientific name for butterfly weed is Asclepias tuberosa. The name comes from Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine and healing, who was the son of Apollo. With respect to milkweed, the name goes back to the practice of early peoples seeing medicinal benefits from the using the plant in a wide variety of ways. In modern times, the plant’s toxicity has proven it not to be a source of medicinal benefits, save for the larva of the monarch and queen butterflies.
Butterfly weed is propagated primarily by seed, as transplanting it is quite difficult due to its heavy woody root system. Planted as a seed the plant does well in most soils, preferable dry, sandy ones, but cannot tolerate excessively wet soil conditions due to the danger of rot setting in and afflicting the roots.
Once set in the ground, the plant takes several years to acclimatize itself to the environment, and then it starts blooming. I have not grown the plants from seeds, but I have planted many young potted plants, which now are thriving, filled with blooms. In uncultivated areas, such as roadside ditches, the plant does well, and should not be cut by aspiring amateur florists, because of its vital role in the life cycle of the queen and monarch butterflies.
Butterfly weed lives in a wide domain stretching from South Dakota to Texas, and east therefrom to the Atlantic Ocean. With development advancing throughout its habitat, cultivating the plant to compensate for the territorial losses is increasingly more important. Given the migratory habits of butterflies, milkweed provides the essential nurturing spots for their larva to call home, albeit briefly.
In sowing the seeds or finding spots for young plants grown from seed in pots, the gardener needs to remember that butterfly weed wants places full of sunshine and devoid of shade. It is one of the most interesting plants to watch while it attracts pollinators, and particularly as it is being used as a repository for the larva of the circling mother looking for the right place to lay her emerging offspring. The plant provides a good home for the developing caterpillars prior to their transformation into adult butterflies.
Butterfly weed does not have predators ready to devour it, and its hardiness can withstand and survive prescribed burnings. I have noticed that if a sprig gets cut accidentally, the plant will shoot up a replacement right away, but probably not in time for a bloom that season. When one plants butterfly weed, the rewards are well worth the slight effort required. Pollinators are being helped. An endangered species is given a lift towards escaping extinction. A garden is being enhanced.
Plant more butterfly weed!
