How to Grow and Care for Butterfly Weed

Butterfly Weed Care

Plant butterfly weed in late spring after the soil warms. Do not expect it to bloom the first year; flowering may take three years. Blooms last about two months, from late spring until late summer. A. tuberosa produces seed pods that release silky-tailed seeds to disperse on the wind.

Here are the main care requirements for growing butterfly weed:

• Grow butterfly weed in a sunny spot with well-draining soil.
• Sow seeds directly in the garden—butterfly weed does not require much tending to to thrive,
• Water a new plant well during its first growing season, but the plant will prosper even in drought-like conditions when established.
• Its seed pods will turn brown towards the end of the growing season (early autumn) and will burst to spread seeds throughout your garden, which emerge as new volunteer plants the following spring.
• While the plant can take up to three years to fully mature and produce flowers, its blooms will gradually grow denser with each season that passes.

Light

Choose a spot in your garden that boasts bright sunlight daily, as this plant loves to soak up the rays. Full sun is your best bet.

Soil

Butterfly weed can prosper in various soil conditions and compositions, from sand to gravel, and it generally prefers a neutral to slightly acidic pH.

Water

During its first year of life (or until new plants start showing mature growth), you should maintain a moist soil environment for butterfly weed, giving it about one inch of water per week through combined rainfall and irrigation.

Once the plant appears well-established, you can cut back to watering it only occasionally, as it prefers dry soil. An extensive, deep taproot helps it thrive even in dry conditions. Mature plants can do well with just monthly watering in all but the driest climates.

Temperature and Humidity

Butterfly weed thrives in various temperature and humidity settings, growing well in zones 3 to 9. Generally, the plant emerges in late spring, hitting its peak bloom during the warmer summer months and drying on the stem throughout the autumn and winter.

It handles high humidity and arid climates equally well, provided it gets adequate soil moisture.

Fertilizer

Butterfly weed is a low-maintenance plant that does not require any additional fertilization. Doing so can harm the plant, making it excessively leggy and reducing blooms.

Types of Butterfly Weed

There are several named cultivars of this plant. Most varieties, as well as the native species, are orange. But some popular varieties offer color variations:

• ‘Hello Yellow’ is a variety with bright yellow flowers.
• ‘Gay Butterflies’ has decidedly reddish flowers.
• ‘Western Gold Mix’ has golden-orange flowers and is bred primarily for the alkaline soils of the western United States.

Pruning Butterfly Weed

Though butterfly weed does not need much pruning throughout the year, it can be cut back to the ground ahead of winter. In late autumn, the leaves on the butterfly weed begin to yellow, and the stems dry out and turn brown.

This is a sign that the plant is entering dormancy for the season. You can take a clean set of pruning shears and cut the plant to the ground, where it will stay until it reemerges in spring.

Propagating Butterfly Weed

Propagating butterfly weed from stem cuttings is easily achieved. Here are the basic steps:

1. Select a healthy stem that’s about half a foot long. Pinch off the leaves of the bottom half.
2. Place the cutting in a jar of water.
3. Wait a couple of weeks, and you will begin to see roots forming.
4. Once the roots are a few inches long, plant the cutting in its own small pot.
5. Allow the cutting to establish itself in the pot, keeping the soil moist while the plant grows roots.
6. Transplant the new plant in a few weeks.

How to Grow Butterfly Weed From Seed

Typically, the easiest and most successful way to add butterfly weed to your garden is to grow it from seed. Plant fresh seeds in the fall for growth the following spring, or allow any established butterfly weeds already in your garden to do the work for you.

Beginning in late summer or early fall, the plants should develop seed pods at the base of the pollinated blooms. If left on the stem, the pods will eventually burst, and the seeds inside will be blown throughout your garden, allowing them to establish themselves in the soil in time for the following year.

If you’d rather have more control over the eventual location of any new butterfly weed plants, you can remove the seed pods from the plant before they burst open and simply plant new seeds by hand instead.

If you want to start seed indoors, the seeds need cold stratification. Here’s how to do it:

1. Place seeds in moist seed starting mix in a container.
2. Cover with a lid and leave in the refrigerator for two months.
3. Remove from the refrigerator eight weeks before the last expected frost, and place in a warm spot under grow lights. Do not let seeds dry out.
4. Once the seedlings have two sets of true leaves, pot them in potting soil and continue to grow inside.
5. As temperatures warm outside and all danger of frost has passed, harden off seedlings for a week, then transplant them in the garden.

Potting and Repotting Butterfly Weed

Butterfly weed doesn’t usually fare well with transplantation as an older plant because of its long, knobby taproot. But you can reliably grow butterfly weed from seed in potting containers.

Butterfly weed will grow easily in a 10 to 12-inch deep pot with ample drainage holes. It does not need repotting or its soil refreshed. It thrives in poor soil, returning each year in the spring after emerging from dormancy.

Overwintering

Overwintering butterfly weed is a simple matter of cutting off the plant stem near ground level as soon as the plant succumbs to cold temperatures in the fall or early winter.

There is no harm in leaving the plant stalks in place, though this encourages rampant self-seeding, which is usually not desired. Don’t mulch over the root crowns, as this can promote rot.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

In most circumstances, butterfly weed is largely trouble-free, but it can be susceptible to root rot if planted in dense soil with too much moisture. It can also be vulnerable to fungal diseases such as rust and other leaf spots, though these are usually merely cosmetic and not fatal.

The plant can be susceptible to aphid damage, which usually is controlled by lady beetles and other predator insects. The plant hosts many butterflies, including monarchs, so expect the leaves to be eaten. Do not use pesticides on milkweed.

How to Get Butterfly Weed to Bloom

Bloom Months

Butterfly weed blooms from June to August.

How Long Does Butterfly Weed Bloom?

The butterfly weed blooms are long-lasting and make a good cut flower. They also dry well.

What Do Butterfly Weed Flowers Look and Smell Like?

Small, star-shaped flowers in bright orange appear in a large, flat, or dome-shaped cluster atop hairy stems. The flowers have a mildly sweet, candy-like fragrance

How to Encourage More Blooms

Butterfly weed is not difficult to cultivate and should bloom freely once mature (which can take up to three years). If you’re struggling to get your butterfly weed to bloom, a few factors could be at play.

It’s essential to get the plant’s watering cadence right. It should be watered regularly until new growth starts to appear (including leaves and stems, not just blooms), at which point you can decrease watering frequency.

Additionally, butterfly weed plants should not be fertilized. While fertilizer may work to make other plants bloom, it can harm butterfly weed and discourage blooming. If the plant is not receiving adequate sunlight, it may not bloom; consider moving it to a new location.

Common Problems With Butterfly Weed

Other than the root rot that can appear in dense, wet soils, there are only a few common problems with butterfly weed.

Self-Seeding

The most common issue with butterfly weed is rampant self-seeding if the seed pods aren’t removed before they burst and scatter their seeds. This can be prevented by removing the seed pods before they dry and burst open.

The volunteer plants that appear due to self-seeding should be removed before they establish long tap roots.

Rabbit Damage

Butterfly weed is very attractive to feeding rabbits. Rodent-repellant granules or sprays can provide some prevention, but metal fencing around the plants is the best solution.