Mostly sun; benefits from light afternoon shade. A deciduous perennial growing to a mound 1-3 feet in height. The showy, orange-hooded flowers appear during summer. As its name suggests, it attracts monarch butterflies. However, it’s used more as a nectar plant than a larval host — since it doesn’t contain milky sap, it doesn’t offer protection for monarchs’ caterpillars.
Butterfly weed can be long-lived in well-drained sandy loam – i.e., in amended garden beds. It doesn’t appreciate heavy clay soils. Aphids tend to congregate on milkweed plants in the garden, but they provide food for ladybugs!
