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butterfly milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. interior
Colorado
- Dimensions
-
Height: 8.0 in. to 1.5 ft.
Spread: 1.0 ft. to 2.0 ft. - Growth Form
- Herbaceous
- Program Association
- Nature in the City
- Wildlife Uses
- Pollinators/ Invertebrates
- Sun Requirements
- Full Sun
- Water Requirements
- Very Low
- Plant Community
- Foothills, Plains
- Season of Bloom
- June, July, August
- Flower Color
- Orange Shades
- Leaf Color
- Green Shades
- Aggressiveness
- Readily Seeds
- Design Considerations
- Small Spaces, Showy Flowers
- Other Considerations
- Deer Tolerant
- Duration
- Perennial
- Soil Type
- Well Drained
- Pests/Disease Prone
- No
- Hazards/Toxic
- No City Data.
Notes
This species is an important larval food host for three specialist butterfly species and adult food host to twenty-two specialist butterfly species, the most popular being the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Generally, Monarch butterflies will lay eggs on any Asclepias species and preferences change depending on season, habitat, and health of the milkweed. Provide a wide selection of milkweed species in your garden for these butterflies.
There are three subspecies of A. tuberosa identified by USDA Plants National Database, all native to the U.S. Subspecies rolfsii and tuberosa are native to the eastern states and subspecies interior is native to most of the U.S., including Colorado.