So if you love the color orange, and it seems as though many people do, why not ditch the “ditch lily” in your garden and replace it with an overwhelmingly friendlier orange flowering perennial? A native species. A pollinator attractor. A plant that is the larval host to our Monarch, Grey Hairstreak and Queen butterflies: Asclepias tuberosa. Commonly named butterflyweed or butterfly milkweed, this native grows 1-3 feet in height and can handle sun, part sun, dry or moist conditions, preferring well drained soils.
Tuberosa blooms cheerfully in June and July, concurrently with the common daylily. Butterflies and myriads of other pollinators can be found caressing the clusters of tiny neon flowers. The orange-reddish and black insects that congregate on the plants are milkweed bugs.