We just purchased this plant this summer. We live in zone 5. Does this plant need to be cut back in either late winter or early spring? Thanks!

BeTu wrote:

We just purchased this plant this summer.
We live in zone 5. Does this plant need to
be cut back in either late winter or early
spring? Thanks!

do you mean Asclepias tuberosa as shown by

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_weed

?

if so, we are also in zone 5 and i leave most
of ours alone. some in the more formal gardens
get trimmed back after they die back naturally
in the fall.

if you don't want volunteer plants harvest the
pods before they split open very far. it is
actually easier to harvest the seeds if you pick
the pods right when they start splitting as then
you can hold all the silk and brush the seeds
off.


songbird

On Wednesday, September 11, 2013 6:02:40 PM UTC-4, songbird wrote:
BeTu wrote:



We just purchased this plant this summer.

We live in zone 5. Does this plant need to

be cut back in either late winter or early

spring? Thanks!



do you mean Asclepias tuberosa as shown by



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_weed



?



if so, we are also in zone 5 and i leave most

of ours alone. some in the more formal gardens

get trimmed back after they die back naturally

in the fall.



if you don't want volunteer plants harvest the

pods before they split open very far. it is

actually easier to harvest the seeds if you pick

the pods right when they start splitting as then

you can hold all the silk and brush the seeds

off.

songbird


Thanks songbird....yes, that seems to be the one....I'll leave it alone, and watch it next spring...thanks for the advice.

BeTu said:


We just purchased this plant this summer. We live in zone 5. Does this
plant need to be
cut back in either late winter or early spring? Thanks!

I would wait until spring, because butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
can be a wee bit late in emerging, compared to other perennials, so it's
good to have a few old stems to mark its location. Plus, I like to let
this native go to seed and spread the bounty.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

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