The plant tolerates dry soil but not heavy soil. Once established do not disturb butterfly weed unnecessarily. Butterfly weed is slow to start growth in the spring. Mark its location to prevent damage to easily injured dormant crowns. A taproot makes transplanting difficult.
Propagation is by seed or division in the spring.
The seed germinates in 3 to 4 weeks at 70 to 75 degrees. Plants may be planted in a cold frame in spring or fall. Fresh seed may need chilling. This little fellow has pretty light green and grey stripes on a cream colored body and while I'm not much for messing around with any kind of creepy crawlies, this animal has real potential. He loves milkweed and some of the milk weeds make lovely additions to the garden.