I planted butterfly weed, a native member of the milkweed family quite a few months ago. I am happy to say I have had tons of success growing it in little grow pots in a screened enclosure.

Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, refers to the knobby and swelling roots. The native milkweed can be found from “Maine, to South Dakota to the desert southwest to Florida,” according to the U.S. Forest Service.

I found it interesting that the butterfly weed has a watery, translucent sap, rather than the milky sap other varieties of milkweed have. In addition, I have read it does not transplant well, due to its deep woody taproot. I currently have all of mine in pots to see how they do. If I have success, I will definitely section off the garden and plant more seeds directly into the ground with a cover over them.

One of my plants has grown to a good size, while the others are still short. It has not flowered yet, but has beautiful green leaves. Today I spotted quite a few black eggs, which means it will soon be graced with monarch caterpillars, only enabling it to grow fuller and more beautiful once the chomping concludes.