Rose Swamp Milkweed: each 1/2 gallon $10.99

Rose Swamp Milkweed - (Asclepias incarnata)

Commonly called Red Milkweed, Marsh Milkweed, or Swamp Milkweed.  That lovely vanilla fragrance you detect coming from large rosy pink flowers possibly hosting several Monarch or Swallowtail butterflies is Rose Milkweed. Like all members of the Asclepias genus, this milkweed is often used by monarch butterflies as a host plant.

This deer-resistant plant grows best in moist but will tolerate average soils, and blooms for about a month mid-summer.  Later, large pods form which will break open to reveal seeds that will float away in the wind.

The charismatic and imperiled monarch butterfly requires milkweed plants in order to survive. Monarchs migrate into the eastern U.S. from Mexico in spring to lay their eggs on milkweed species plants. Caterpillars hatch from the eggs and consume the milkweed plant foliage as food for growth and development. Mature caterpillars will search for a nearby, sheltered location to enter the pupal stage and form a chrysalis. Inside, they will complete metamorphosis and emerge as an adult butterfly in around 2 weeks. Flower nectar is consumed by adult butterflies as a valuable food source. The 4th or 5th generation of monarch butterflies that emerges in August-September will migrate into Mexico to overwinter as adults. Significant declines in monarch butterfly populations in North America over the course of the 21st century are believed by many experts to be caused by a reduction in milkweed due to widespread use of herbicide-tolerant row crops, climate change, and loss of overwinter sites due to habitat destruction.

Help support monarch butterflies and plant this native species of milkweed.

Common Name: swamp milkweed  

Type: Herbaceous perennial

Family: Apocynaceae

Native Range: Northeastern and southeastern United States

Zone: 3 to 6

Height: 3.00 to 4.00 feet

Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet

Bloom Time: July to August

Bloom Description: White, pink, mauve

Sun: Full sun

Water: Medium to wet

Maintenance: Low

Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden

Flower: Showy, Fragrant

Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies

Tolerate: Deer, Clay Soil, Wet Soil

• Category: Perennial, Native

• Hardiness Zone: 3-8

• Height: 3-5 Feet

• Spread: 2-3 Feet

• Spacing: 12 Inches

• Bloom Color: Yellow

• Foliage Color: Silver