Butterfly Milkweed 'Hello Yellow' (Asclepias tuberosa)

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Botanical name: Asclepias tuberosa • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Clear yellow • Pollinator value: Monarch host; high-visibility butterfly nectar plant • Host plant: Monarch, Queen, Gray hairstreak

An amazing native pollinator attractor and a striking, bright addition to the landscape. Its spread can be easily managed by removing seedpods before they open. Milkweed grows in Full or Partial Sun and is drought-tolerant after the first year. Monarch populations are dangerously low. Please reestablish milkweed clumps all along migration routes from Mexico/California up to the Northern US and Canada.

This cultivar has been observed at Vital Bee Buds for three years. Its spread behavior has not been aggressive in an off-the-drip dry/hot space. The compact height of 18” wide x 18” high is welcomed. It is a very long bloomer, starting in May and just now starting to set seed in mid-July.

Botanical name: Asclepias tuberosa • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Clear yellow • Pollinator value: Monarch host; high-visibility butterfly nectar plant • Host plant: Monarch, Queen, Gray hairstreak

An amazing native pollinator attractor and a striking, bright addition to the landscape. Its spread can be easily managed by removing seedpods before they open. Milkweed grows in Full or Partial Sun and is drought-tolerant after the first year. Monarch populations are dangerously low. Please reestablish milkweed clumps all along migration routes from Mexico/California up to the Northern US and Canada.

This cultivar has been observed at Vital Bee Buds for three years. Its spread behavior has not been aggressive in an off-the-drip dry/hot space. The compact height of 18” wide x 18” high is welcomed. It is a very long bloomer, starting in May and just now starting to set seed in mid-July.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Asclepias tuberosa

Cultivar: 'Hello Yellow'

Common Name: Butterfly Milkweed

Native: Cultivar

Native Region: Eastern & Central N.A.; Arizona-New Mexico Mountains

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Low

Bloom Time: Summer

Bloom Color: Clear yellow

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies

Host Plant: Monarch, Queen, Gray hairstreak

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 1'-1.5' x H 1'-2'

Soil: Sharply drained; lean, sandy soil, deep taproot dislikes being moved

Pollinator Value: Monarch host; Monarch host; high-visibility butterfly nectar plant

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping; deep taproot

Available As: Live plant

Growing Notes

Full sun and sharply drained, lean soil. The deep taproot means it resents transplanting, so site it once and leave it. Space about 15 inches apart. Do not enrich the planting hole; this is a plant that performs better in poor ground than in good.

  • Water: Low

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Sharply drained; lean, sandy soil, deep taproot dislikes being moved

  • Mature size: W 1'-1.5' x H 1'-2'

Maintenance

Leave stems standing through winter, cut back in late spring, keep about a third. Very late to emerge in spring, so mark its position. Seedlings from this cultivar will mostly revert to orange, which is not a problem unless you were counting on yellow. Never spray it, and do not attempt division.