Minnesota Native Plants - Butterfly Weed (Asclepias Tuberosa)

Minnesota Native Plants - Butterfly Weed (Asclepias Tuberosa). The Butterfly Weed is my favorite plant in the Minnesota native garden. It attracts Monarch butterflies, bees and other insects. Besides being the host of the Monarch butterfly, it is incredibly beautiful! I did not mention the height in the video. This plant grows 1 - 3 feet tall. Please consider adding Butterfly Weed to your native garden, no matter where you live in the Upper Midwest.
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[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

If you're adding a native garden or Monarch garden, make sure to add this beautiful plant!

[@beesandseeds]

The native garden is beautiful. I hadn’t thought of adding native grasses.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I love the different leaves of the flowers mixing with the grasses. Also, the grasses are beautiful in their own way. I'll be reviewing some of the grasses too. Have a great week, Lisa!!

[@brycewiborg8095]

We have butterfly bush too. We've always allowed milkweed to grow too. Thank you Rich.

[@brycewiborg8095]

On that thought during WWII when we were isolated from our source of kapok the fluff of milkweed was picked by farm families in our area to manufacture flotation devices for the Navy, and air crews that had to fly across water.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I'm glad you've added this (and Milkweed) to your farm. If you're on Facebook, check out the page "Milkweed For Monarchs Project." You can join the page and then share your pics of your Milkweed and other Monarch plants. Cheers Bryce!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@brycewiborg8095 I never knew this. Thanks for sharing!

[@souhirhairstyle]

First like 👍 beautiful garden nice plants 🪴 😍

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Congrats on being first!! You're correct, this is a beautiful plant! Cheers!

[@paula...sister1of12]

We have the butterfly weed in the mountains of Tennessee. You can see them growing in fields and random spots. They are so pretty.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We have it wild here too. There are a couple areas where it looks beautiful! I hope you see some Monarchs this summer too! Cheers Paula!

[@YogiHollowFarm]

Your native garden is looking beautiful. Great job!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Thank you Lisa! It's been a lot of work to get the weeds out and get the plants established. Now it'll be the easy part....let it be and let it attract butterflies! Have a great week!!

[@hardnackfarms1736]

Good morning Rich. Awe. I love seeing the caterpillars. I have tropical milkweed. I have several flowers around ours to attract the Monarchs. Mine are in pots until we build our landscape. We finally got our house built and are slowly moving in so I have a lot of mine on the back porch. I need to move down from the back of the farm two mineral tubs. One is full of tropical milkweed and the other pollinator flowers and herbs. So far, I have only seen one monarch, so I hope she lays on the tropical milkweed this year. However, we have been busy moving in so I am not out as much! Furthermore, I overwinter the milkweed in the greenhouse and it does very well in the geothermal greenhouse. I will be planting swamp milkweed for next year’s pollinator garden. I so wished more people would become passionate about our beautiful pollinators. Have an awesome week Rich. Wendy❤️🙏🏻🇺🇸

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I hope you'll show off some of the Tropical Milkweed. Not sure if I've seen that before. Probably a variety that would not live well here. It'll be fun to see your new place. I've got a new job so I haven't been around to other channels as in the past. I have a LOT of catching up to do! Have a great week! Cheers Wendy!

[@threeriversforge1997]

If you have tropical milkweed but aren't in the right area where those are the native plants.... you're actually harming the monarchs. The tropical milkweed tricks the monarchs into thinking they're in the tropics where that plant naturally grows, and then the butterflies get caught by the cold weather and die because they didn't continue south where the cold wasn't a problem.

[@BARBSCOUNTRYHOME999]

Your butterfly garden looks amazing.. Mine are doing very well and are full of catapillars. 🦋

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I bet you are on brood #6 by now! I've always loved seeing all the caterpillars at your place. Please put some photos on FB or video on your channel. Cheers Barb!!

[@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead]

Like 32! Butterfly Weed exists here too and bees love it as well.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

You're correct. The bees and other pollinators love this plant. Beautiful and very useful!! Cheers Garry!

[@LittleHomesteadOnHinerPond]

I finally have a few after trying twice. I didn’t make sure they were kept moist and that’s probably why the first ones died. I blamed it on lack of sun. Thanks for the tip to keep the new ones moist.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

The first year is critical. After that, they grow easily under most conditions. If you're on Facebook, check out the "Milkweed For Monarchs Project" page. You can join us and then share your photos of your Milkweed and other plants. Cheers!

[@daveknight1154]

Nice Rich. I have planted lots around my property. I am on the main fly way for Monarchs from Ontario to Ohio. They stag here and wait for a wind to help them across Lake Erie. I like your series on native plants in the Mid west.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I bet you get a load of Monarchs before the trip to Ontario. That would be fascinating. I'm hoping my series will inspire many in the Upper Midwest to plant more natives for beauty, and for the butterflies! Cheers Dave!

[@TheMorganHomestead]

I need to get some of that! Beautiful!!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I'll try to get some seeds at the end of the season. It's still not too late to plant this year. Many of the local native plant companies will sell seeds. This is beautiful and will really bring in the butterflies.

[@threeriversforge1997]

Yep. I've got some here I raised from seed, and they absolutely love moist soil when they're still in that first year! For all the talk about how tough they are, let that ground get dry and you'll have the poor things wilting like there's no tomorrow! As you say, there's no other flower with such a vibrant orange. How you could not want those in your garden is a mystery to me. Of course, I'm something of a native purist of late, and only want native plants in my yard. Just put in two Panicum virgatum and 10 Carex pensylvanica. Maybe next month I'll transplant the Asclepias to the ground, but I really worry that I'll lose some in this incredible heat we're having right now. The spot I've picked is in a "hell strip" right out in the blazing sun and beside some pavement. I'm afraid that I'll miss a watering and the poor butterfly weed will die on me.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

My butterfly weed has been very resilient, but maybe I've had it in areas that were moist enough. Sounds like you really know your native plants! I'm trying to make a couple beds around our farm that are nothing but native. The other beds can be roses, non-natives and annuals. I love the native beds though. Such great plants and they just look "right." Thanks for watching and adding your comments! Have a great weekend!

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm I got into the native plants about a year ago, through Dr. Doug Tallamy's videos here on youtube. That, and I was looking for an alternative to planting Vetiver grass to create a hedge. Imagine my surprise when I found out that our native grasses, like the Panicum, are responsible for creating the wonderful soil of the Great Plains and have a root structure that's famous for being some of the deepest in the world. How could I possibly plant some foreign grass after learning that? From there, it was on to using Carex species as a lawn alternative that I didn't have to mow. I still have a few non-natives around, but I'm slowly removing them as time and money allow. That, and I'm fighting against battalions of invasive foreign plants that are everywhere! After a few years of that war, there's just no love in my heart for non-native plants.... especially when the native plants are so very attractive and beneficial.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@threeriversforge1997 What a great story! It is amazing the number of foreign plants that can invade an area. We're dealing with many here and it is a constant war to contain them. I'm trying to look at the battle as a five-year initiative. I just can't do it in a season. Stay in touch. I'd love to hear how your battle goes. Take care!

[@DragonGoddess18]

Very beautiful Although I am curious what butterfly weed smells like

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I don't notice any smell to the plant or flower. The butterflies love it but it's not a fragrant flower. Cheers!

[@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead]

Native or Wild Garden areas are a must to a veg. Garden requiring pollination from bees, wasps, etc!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I'm trying to add a lot of areas with flowers and blooms for the pollinators. In the future, I'd love to add bees to our farm. Cheers Garry!

[@PlasBachGarden]

I would love to grow Asclepias tuberosa but I struggle with it here in Wales...

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I would think your climate is similar to our climate (probably much warmer in winter). Do you think your problem is soil, weather, or something else? Let me know your thoughts and maybe we can come up with an idea to grow them. Cheers!

[@PlasBachGarden]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm That's very kind of you! I'm growing on very heavy clay and it is very wet here, so most likely they're rotting away...

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@PlasBachGarden I wonder if you could dig a deep and wide hole and fill it with good soil. Maybe a foot wide by two feet deep. It doesn't need to be lots of organic material but good soil that will drain (and provide some good food). That might be enough for the plant to establish itself and get a great foothold. It's such a beautiful plant. I'd hate to not have it in your garden without a bit of a fight!! Keep us posted on progress. Cheers!

[@PlasBachGarden]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm Thanks for the helpful advice! I will definitely give it another go. I've got a channel on here too, so will hopefully post a video of a successfully growing butterfly weed one day! 🤞🤞🤞

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@PlasBachGarden I'll be watching for the video! Cheers!