Butterfly Weed growing in strange form!

4 years ago

Hi everyone! Long-time lurker, first-time poster!

I hope someone can help me with a strange issue affecting one of my Butterfly Weeds (A. tuberosa). I have numerous specimens throughout my garden (zone 6, Hudson Valley of New York), and all are growing very well.

This one is actually my oldest specimen and has been in the ground for 6 years now. I've never had any issue with it, and it has always thrived alongside my other Butterfly Weeds in full sun in clay-loam. I know Butterfly Weeds have issues with poorly drained soils and clay, so I've always succeeded with them in the highest, best-draining parts of my property, and a few of my plants are the 'variant' of the species that grows better in clay (sold by Prairie Nursery).

This year, for some reason, the vast majority of the shoots on this plant are growing in a much more compact fashion, with very small, chlorotic looking leaves compared too all my other, healthier Butterfly Weeds. The even stranger part is that 2-3 shoots of this plant have come out normally, with taller stems, and larger, lusher, darker green foliage. I'm positive that these shoots are all coming out of the same plant crown. I've always deadheaded this one well before the seed pods develop, so there's no chance it's a seedling growing next to the mother plant.

In any event, does anyone have any idea why the original plant has suddenly grown so "stunted" and chlorotic" this year in the same conditions as all my other thriving Butterfly Weeds? And also why it has the random 2-3 shoots that are growing normally?

Photo 1 shows the whole plant with the stunted, chlorotic growth at right and the normal, larger green shoots at left.

Photos 2 and 3 show close-ups of the ”stunted” and ”normal” shoots:

Featured Answer

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

King, thanks for the info about milkweed yellows. I learn new things here all the time!

Ken, try to meet folks where they are rather than adding to the confusion please. Butterfly weed is a milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa. Other milkweeds are also in the genus Asclepias.

Butterflyweed and butterfly bush are common names for two totally different plants, but they have different common names, so I am not sure where you are going with that. Yes, using scientific names helps reduce confusion and helps searchers find accurate info sources, but since there are photos in this thread that ID the plant clearly, simply adding the scientific name would have sufficed.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

beesandblues88_z7a
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Possibly Aster Yellows disease. Aster Yellows will cause stunted yellow foliage and deformed growth. It can also cause the flowers to be green but not always. Sometimes the flowers can just be a faded color of what would be the normal color of the flower.. Milkweed is susceptible to this disease and can spread to other plants pretty quickly. I lost 7 coneflower and 2 milkweed to it one year that I know for sure had it but pulled a few more because they did not look right and I was not taking a chance. I think it spread in my garden in over a 2 year period because I had know idea what it was at the time. It is a nasty disease spread by leaf hoppers and there is no cure. If it was just yellow leave I'd look for spider mites but with it having deformed growth I would pull it up roots and all then clean shovel with bleach and water. Then keep close eye on other plants.
beesandblues88_z7a
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Also if you are not familiar with the disease like I was do some research, it does not affect all plants the same way. And even the same type of plant may have different symptoms. I had coneflower that looked fine on one side and the other side of same plant looked yellow deformed and green petals on the flower. Here is a link about it.

https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/aster-yellows
Related Professionals
Saginaw Landscape Contractors · Lafayette Home Builders · Tyler Home Builders · Jackson Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Chatham Landscape Contractors · Danbury Cabinets & Cabinetry · Santa Fe Cabinets & Cabinetry · Decatur Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Spartanburg Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Laconia Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Natchitoches Landscape Contractors · Poplar Bluff Landscape Contractors · Greenville Landscape Contractors · Oklahoma City Landscape Contractors · Winston-Salem Kitchen Remodelers
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
4 years ago
I cannot find any association of aster yellows with milkweeds. It effects plants in the aster family as well as some grains, celery tomato, petunia and snapdragons.

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/diseases/viruses/aster-yellows.aspx
kingofthemonarchs
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks! There does seem to be a separate phytoplasm that affects milkweeds (like Aster yellows but not the same):

https://squirrelworking.ca/plants/milkweed-yellows-phytoplasma/
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
is butterfly weed a milk weed? ..hmmm...

then i read this.. and now i am so confused im not even sure.. i just dont know ...

https://www.gardenguides.com/92567-butterfly-weed-vs-milkweed.html

you should learn to use the latininzed name.. and the author should just delete that diatribe at the link.. for lack of properly identifying what the heck they are talking about ...

butterfly weed.. shrub.flower.. is one of the COMMON NAME nightmares in the garden world ...

in my MI .. he ones on the side of the roads all over the state should start looming soon ... its the orange one.. lol ...

my point.. if i had one.. is using the proper name in a a search engine.. will get you more precise information.. specific to the actual plant you are researching ...

ken
kingofthemonarchs
Original Author
4 years ago
@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 I did use the scientific name in my post (A. tuberosa). Seems like you need to read a little more carefully to avoid all that confusion! :)
Iowa Blooms z 5
4 years ago
I would be interested to know what you decide to do for the A. tuberosa. I have had similar looking plants for A. tuberosa and A. syriaca as shows in the blog link. I removed as many as I could. I am wondering when I can re-introduce some more milkweed to the garden though. I do have a couple plants in other areas that look normal but now it's another ailment to worry about.
kingofthemonarchs
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
@Iowa Blooms z 5 I did decide to dig out and trash the affected one today. Even though it was my oldest Butterfly weed, I took consolation in the 8-10 others that are starting to bloom around my garden while seemingly unaffected by the ”yellows.”

One ”nice” thing about the phytoplasma that causes the disease is that it can apparrently survive only in the vascular tissue of the plants or in the saliva of the planthoppers that transmit it, and not in the soil.

I’m sure I’ll replant the bare spot with another tuberosa before long, with the hope that the infected planthoppers have moved on (or died). There are lots of A. syriaca growing wild in my neighborhood and I havent seen any signs of disease on any, so I’m crossing my fingers!