How to Grow Butterfly Weed (Asclepias)

Hi this is Yolanda Vanveen. In this segment we are going to talk about the butterfly weed also known as Asclepias. Now Asclepias is also known as milkweed because the Monarch butterflies love it. Butterflies just love that plant and a lot of them depend on it for their colonies and they are found all over the United States and they can thrive in zones 3 to 9. They can handle cold temperatures as well as warm temperatures and do really really well. Because they are found all over North America they can handle a little bit of cold and some warm temperatures but they really do need full hot sun and good drainage because they are found a little bit on the prairies and a little bit in the drier areas of America so you want to make sure to never let them dry out completely but never let them set in water either and you need to be patient for them because they don't even come out of the ground until late Spring. You might have thought that you lost it but all of a sudden in May or June it will come out of the ground and give you beautiful May flowers that are just gorgeous and butterflies will just enjoy it all Summer long.