Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called butterfly weed, orange milkweed, pleurisy root.

More about butterfly weed

About Butterfly Weed

Asclepias tuberosa · also called butterfly weed, orange milkweed · flowering

A tough North American native milkweed crowned with flat clusters of brilliant orange flowers that draw butterflies and bees. Unusually for a milkweed, it has clear (not milky) sap and a deep taproot, making it drought-tolerant once established. As an Asclepias, it is toxic to cats, dogs and horses if eaten.

Cold limit: USDA 3-9 · RHS H5 (-34 to 32°C)

What butterfly weed's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — butterfly weed is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 3-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H5 means: Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters. On the US scale that maps to USDA 3-9 — the zones where it can be left outdoors year-round.

New to these scales? The USDA hardiness zone map explained covers how the zone numbers work, and you can find your own zone with the zone finder.

Minimum temperature — and what happens below it

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −15 to −10 °C. Butterfly Weed is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for butterfly weed as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °C once established.
Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root.
First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.

Can butterfly weed go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-9 and it overwinters with little or no help.
It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy.
The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

Work back from your local frost dates with the frost-date calculator: the last spring frost and first autumn frost are what really decide when butterfly weed can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H5 figure above.

Butterfly Weed hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is butterfly weed cold hardy?

Yes — butterfly weed is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 3-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Butterfly Weed is hardy across USDA 3-9; it belongs in the ground or a frost-proof container, not on a windowsill, and many types actively need a cold winter to perform.

What is the minimum temperature butterfly weed can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −15 to −10 °C. Butterfly Weed is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is butterfly weed?

Butterfly Weed is rated USDA 3-9 and RHS H5 — Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters.

Can butterfly weed survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-9 and it overwinters with little or no help. It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy. The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

What happens to butterfly weed below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °C once established. Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root. First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.