A huge butterfly weed

I thought this butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) was huge last year, and ruthlessly rooted out stalks and roots, transplanting them elsewhere, trying to get every bit. This was last year's post. (Uh, it's supposed to be hard to transplant because of the 'taproot'.) I had heeled in a seedling plant some years ago without thinking about it much -- hmmm.

This is the main vegetable garden, after all. Notice the trellis with beans next to it!

But clearly it has a strong survival mode, and I've just encouraged it (along with decent rainfall and nutrients added in adjacent spots via compost).

It's currently a magnet for butterflies, honeybees, and bumblebees.

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Ready to go?

It's been a banner year for butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa. Very deep-rooted, with somewhat fleshy, tuberous roots, it's sailed through months of minimal rain and heat to produce abundant fruits and seeds.

It's a widespread species across Eastern North America and the Midwest, occurring along roadsides, open areas, and in its native grassland sites.

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