Butterfly Milkweed 'Hello Yellow' (Asclepias tuberosa)

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Botanical name: Asclepias tuberosa • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Clear yellow • Host plant (elsewhere in North America): queen, monarch

The same plant as orange butterfly milkweed, but with a clear, soft yellow that presents cooler in a bed and mixes with more plants. The flower structure is unchanged, so monarchs still lay on it, and the same butterflies still visit it. Compact, upright, and no staking required.

Botanical name: Asclepias tuberosa • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Clear yellow • Host plant (elsewhere in North America): queen, monarch

The same plant as orange butterfly milkweed, but with a clear, soft yellow that presents cooler in a bed and mixes with more plants. The flower structure is unchanged, so monarchs still lay on it, and the same butterflies still visit it. Compact, upright, and no staking required.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Asclepias tuberosa

Cultivar: 'Hello Yellow'

Common Name: Butterfly Milkweed

Native: Cultivar

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Low

Bloom Time: Summer

Bloom Color: Clear yellow

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies

Deer Resistant: Yes

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

Soil: Sharply drained; lean, sandy soil

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping; deep taproot

Available As: Live plant

Native Region: Eastern & Central N.A.; Arizona-New Mexico Mountains (SW edge)

Host Plant (Elsewhere in North America): queen, monarch

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.