Asclepias – more commonly known as the butterfly weed – is in full bloom right now, its fiery orange flower heads acting as the perfect landing pads of butterflies and bees alike. It’s one of my favorite perennials in the border, and not just because it’s the favored meal of the caterpillars that eventually become Monarch butterflies. Its glorious color seems to perfectly embody the month of July – all fire and heat and brilliance.
These plants like to be in a moist spot, where they can reach up toward the sun while their feet soak up the water. I believe they develop a deep tap root, which makes moving older specimens risky business best avoided if possible. They are so easy to get started though, we almost always have volunteers coming up, and if caught early enough they do well enough with a quick move.
The bees love this too, which is how all the pollination happens.
