Asclepias tuberosa

Asclepias tuberosa is a milkweed native throughout the southeast. It is naturally found in dry, sunny gaps like roadsides or forest margins. It grows well in full sun, but can tolerate part shade, and on soils that are dry to occasionally moist. It is drought tolerant, and fairly deer resistant. This plant can get up to two feet tall during the growing season, and has characteristic milky sap when a stem or leaf is broken. It dies back completely in the winter. Clusters of bright orange flowers bloom in the summer and attract pollinators. Pods full of white silky seeds mature in the fall. This is a host plant for a few native butterfly species, and most notably for monarchs. Asclepias tuberosa is an excellent specimen plant in a yard.