Perennial of the Year

Paul Pilon

The Perennial Plant Association recently named Asclepias tuberosa as the 2017 Perennial of the Year. With the plight of the Monarch butterfly and the recent focus on pollinator health, this selection couldn’t come at a more relevant time.

Once established, asclepias is known to be a hassle-free, long-lived perennial. It brightens the landscape for several months with its brilliant tangerine orange blooms. Butterfly weed produces lots of nectar and pollen, which is particularly attractive to the Monarch butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other beneficial insects.

With the extra marketing Asclepias tuberosa will receive from PPA, combined with the heightened awareness of pollinator health and the declining monarch butterfly population, this plant will likely be in high demand for years to come. GT