Painting the Garden Orange with Asclepias Tuberosa

Enough cannot be said about pollinator plants. Being mindful of pollinators is incredibly important. Our well-being is linked to pollinators’ well-being. And when there are plants such as rich red and pretty pink Monarda, or Bee Balm, and Asclepias tuberosa, the Orange Butterfly Weed which can add eye-catching color to the garden, then being kind to pollinators comes at little cost and great benefit (in the form of colorful blooms).

I was given two gifts of Asclepias tuberosa earlier this summer. One was from a relative who saw Butterfly Weed and companion plants potted up and ready to go. Knowing I would love this arrangement she had come across, she got one large container and delivered it to my doorstep. The Asclepias tuberosa was already in bloom, vibrant as could be. 

My other gift of Butterfly Weed came from signing on to a “project” which felt more like winning a small lottery than anything else: I agreed to host two “Monarch-approved” plants in my garden, Buddleia and Asclepias tuberosa. As part of this project, a philanthropic group which engages in beneficial acts of many sorts sent young adults to my home, shovel and nicely sized plants in hand. They dug in their two gifts… gifts to the butterflies that are now enjoying them, and certainly gifts to me, the gardener who gets to soak in the warm and happy sight of the plants’ flowers in a garden bed I can see from my kitchen window.

Now, first off, all I can say is, “Wow. There is kindness in this world.” And next, I have to focus on how beautiful Asclepias tuberosa is. For a person who loves the color orange (I am that person), Orange Butterfly Weed is a perfect plant. Its blooms appear in somewhat flattened clusters atop stems that are tall enough to get them seen, even in a sea of plants. 

I have long known Common and Swamp Milkweeds with dusty pink blooms and stockier supporting structures of stems and larger leaves. These are the Milkweeds with milky white sap, a sap which gardeners should avoid by wearing their gardening gloves. These native wildflowers blow in on the wind and seed themselves, growing large and becoming havens for Monarchs during the phases in their life cycle which occur before they are able to take flight. Later, the mature Monarchs enjoy the plants’ rich stores of nectar. 

Considering all that these plants offer, who could fail to appreciate Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)? But Asclepias tuberosa is even more appealing to me, in all honesty, if I want to jazz up my garden beds and show off the true orange I have been seeking lately. Asclepias tuberosa starts out with a fairly narrow profile which seems to fit into lots of bare spots in the garden. What is more, Asclepias tuberosa does not have the milky sap I just described. Nevertheless, wearing gloves to plant and tend this native beauty makes sense to me.

I will continue to plant Tiger Lilies for grand pops of orange in the garden, and pollinators will love them. But now I am inclined to add quite a bit of Asclepias tuberosa, or Orange Butterfly Weed. 

I love the way the disk-like flower clusters play off the shapes of different orange blooms, such as those of the Lilies or of puffy Zinnias. I have tried to achieve this look using Yarrow in the past, but although Yarrow seems to grow for everyone else, it does not do so well for me. So Orange Butterfly weed with its starry blooms now saves the day for me, "painting" patches of orange in a form that accentuates the orange of other plants. And as it does this, it supports the orange and black butterflies I love so much.

Monarch my words… the butterflies will be glad you have started growing Asclepias tuberosa. Pollinators in my area seem to be enjoying my two gift plants, and they are sure to be pleased when I add more.