![[Photo: Asclepias tuberosa foliage.]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVnBfeTGoexEyAeCRxalEjMJ_P0xXJ0NuzZYBzbdCAmnpvZurqaBK_FdoBhBmaWKkDVK1Bl6vzpK3N5VbYRm3P13acab6jD6-Gxjzfo5aUUXeFPW3c5A5BdN-fZA2G8CHemR7Iyq0flw/s400/Asclepias+tuberosa.jpg)
My butterfly weed was slow coming up (normal for this plant) but has really shot up in the last couple of weeks. Although it's closely related to common milkweed (
Asclepias syriaca), butterfly weed does not have milky sap, and as you can see the foliage is much narrower.
![[Photo: Ascelpias tuberosa flower buds.]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WgKPDFRX128jd5ZLcUDL5g6AEtJYZl2KrHrZ_D5S7tmXzJq_OxqcWn_hGxHgN3h6KRLImljWhsvrThyphenhyphen7uOf_qgMG9PM75pIe9GuFhE_eiOX8yhaGw-OpgENMDmOEhOkt6PIpcJiZpcw/s400/Asclepias+tuberosa+2.jpg)
I'm happy to see loads of flower buds. Butterfly weed is one of the few bright orange native flowers in our area—
here's a photo from last year.
I bought this plant a few years ago at the Superstore at Don Mills and Eglinton. That year, President's Choice had a line of native plants, but they don't seem to have this line any more. Perhaps native plants can't withstand the rigors of spending weeks in a supermarket parking lot waiting to be sold?
The Loblaws at Victoria Park north of Gerrard did have quite a few natives (and branded as such; sold in coir pots) though I didn't notice any asclepias. I did get myself some Hepatica, which I love.
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