Scientific Name
Asclepias curassavica 'Silky Gold'
Common Name(s)
Golden Butterflyweed
Scientific Classification
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Tribe: Asclepiadeae
Subtribe: Asclepiadinae
Genus: Asclepias
Flower
Color: Golden yellow
Bloom Time: Summer and fall
Description
Asclepias curassavica 'Silky Gold' is a tender evergreen perennial with narrow, up to 6 inches (15 cm) long, yellow-green, lance-shaped leaves. It grows up to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall. Flowers appear in late spring to late fall on long stems, bearing up to 4 inches (10 cm) long clusters of golden yellow flowers. On this cultivar, all petals and corona are a deep golden yellow. The flowers are followed by up to 3 inches (7.5 cm) long, spindle-shaped seedpods that produce viable seeds.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 8a to 11b: from 30 °F (−1.1 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).
How to Grow and Care
You can easily grow Milkweeds to attract the Monarch and other flying creatures to your garden. Plant seeds of the Milkweed Plant indoors or direct sow outside after danger of frost has passed, and soil has warmed. If the appearance of the plant is too weedy for your taste, grow Milkweeds in a hidden but sunny corner or at the back of a border.
Milkweed often does not begin growing in northern gardens in time to be fully beneficial to butterflies. There you can start seeds of Milkweed inside so they will be ready to plant when the soil has warmed.
Milkweed plants benefit from vernalization, a cold treatment process, before sprouting. They get this when planted outside but treat the seeds through stratification to speed up the growing process. Place seeds into a container of moist soil, cover with a plastic bag, and refrigerate for at least three weeks. If desired, plant into containers and place under a grow light inside about six weeks before soil temperatures outside have warmed. Keep the soil moist by misting, but seeds can rot if allowed to sit in soggy soil.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Milkweed Plants.
Origin
This plant is a cultivar of Asclepias curassavica.
Links
- Back to genus Asclepias
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
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