Firstly, you need to identify exactly which species are the ones you see growing wild. Then make sure you get the same one. Also, could the lack of butterflies on your plants be due to a general decline in population? Do you see a lot of caterpillars on the wild ones?

Do your seeds have a botanical name on them (genus and species?) What is your general location, country or state? Are you able to add a pic of the site? Any pics of the plants that came from the seeds you got? What other plants do you have? A couple of plants of any type are unlikely to attract much wildlife.

This could be a sun exposure or soil structure/fertility/moisture issue. If you are talking about A. tuberosa, it can take a few years for a tuber to form and for a mature plant to manifest.

If you can edit this, I might trade the "weed" category for "perennials." More people who grow butterfly plants on a permanent basis would see your discussion in perennials forum.

Weed forum is mostly about ID'ing and eradicating unwanted plants.

You might try collecting seeds from the ones that are growing wild...

Alas, none have been seen here for a decade.

Yes, A. tuberosa is the plant I am looking for, but the cultivars sold are a far cry from the real thing.

I grew them from seeds many years ago with great success but could not take them with me when I moved.

We have butterflys and caterpillars in our garden but none on the butterfly weed plants

If you can't obtain seeds, what about digging up some and transplanting them - if that's allowed?

What plants are the caterpillars on?

Check with your local native plant society https://ahsgardening.org/gardening-resources/societies-clubs-organizations/native-plant-societies/

Find out the botanical name of what you want. Butterfly weed is a name given to several different plants.

I hope you've found your seeds already (they need stratification) but if not, both Prairie Moon Nursery and Select Seeds carry a.tuberosa.

There are several varieties of Asclepias tuberosa, yet they are all usually sold as simply A. tuberosa. There are perhaps 5 or more tuberosa entities that don't match any known varieties and are currently being studied. Your best move would be to collect seeds of the wild plant that you like, or have that wild plant identified, so you can search for seeds of that same variety of Asclepias tuberosa.

Most Asclepias tuberosa is sold as A. tuberosa with no information about which variety it is. Venders that are more knowledgable would know what variety they offer.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

I always grow half a dozen parsley because the swallowtail butterflies lay eggs on them and the caterpillars are beautiful. Sometimes they eat the plants down to the stems.

I would encourage you to purchase A. tuberosa plants from a few different sources and see which exibit traits that meet your desires. then collect seeds from those and continue to plant them.

I would also plant more parsley and dill, as well, for the swallowtails. If they don't eat it, you can dry it for use in your kitchen. Or, just let them go to flower for the many pollinators who adore any flowering herbs.

Martha