Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata
Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata
A favorite of many pollinators.
Milkweed serves as a larval host to monarch and queen butterflies, so look for caterpillars munching on the leaves in early summer.
Summer blooms are followed by attractive seed pods that add interest to the fall garden.
A valuable nectar/food source to honeybees, bumblebees, and other pollinators, and are occasionally visited by hummingbirds.
Thanks to its bitter milky sap, Milkweed is deer and rabbit resistant.
Native to wet meadows and riparian zones growing along streambanks and pond edges. Its tolerance to wet soils makes it useful in rain gardens, bioswales, and other wet spots in the landscape.
Plants can also thrive in well-drained garden soils.
Plants have a clumping habit and naturalize well in most landscapes.
Plants have deep taproots and are best left undisturbed once established.
They are slow to emerge in spring.
Planting Time: Spring / Summer
Soil Moisture: Moist / Wet
Soil Type: Average Soil, Clay Soil, Loamy Soil
Plants will perform best in full sun in moist clay, loamy, or average soils,
Bloom Time: Mid to late summer.
Fragrant, rose-pink, nectar-rich flower clusters atop tall, sturdy stems.
Mature Height: 36-48" tall. Mature Spread: 2-3' wide
Planting Depth: The base of the stem should be just at the soil surface.
Zones 3 to 6.