PlantFiles: Swamp Milkweed, Rose Milkweed, Red Milkweed, Swamp Silkweed, White Indian Hemp
Asclepias incarnata

This member of the milkweed family is a well-behaved garden plant. It forms a large clump and will not spread by runners like so many of its cousins. The flowers clusters are 2-4 inches across and have a nice fragrance. It prefers full sun and loves wet soils but it will also grow well in average garden soil.

It's a wonderful addition to a butterfly garden. The adults sip nector from the flowers and monarch butterflies use it as a host plant. The female will lay her eggs on the plant and the young caterpillars feed on the foliage.

Bloomed the first year from seed, started early in greenhouse. Thrived in drought conditions.

I'm always happy to find a new plant for Monarchs, which are threatened in the wild. This entry gave me the interest to look this plant up in some books, and I found out it really likes wet conditions, which I have in Northcentral Florida, zone 8b, so I'll look for some seed to start plants next Spring. I'm at the bottom end of its range, but I'll try hard to find the right niche for it.

The pretty pink color should go nicely with my pink Brugmansias, and pink azaleas, and pink cannas and pink tiger lilies. Obviously I'm developing a pink bed, with a little cream and paler yellows thrown in for variety. This bed has a mixture of sun and shade, so I'll find a place for this pretty and useful plant. I read it grows three to five feet tall, so it would make a nice background plant.

One of my books said there is also a more compact white variety of swamp milkweed called 'Ice Ballet'--to three and a half feet tall. That book also noted that swamp milkweed is a native plant to the US, unlike the scarlet milkweed, A. curassavica, which is from South America--scarlet milkweed is now happily growing all over my garden this summer. However, Monarchs will come to all milkweeds, the adults for flower nectar, and to the whole plant as fodder for their caterpillars.

Monarch habitat is diminishing, so any type of milkweed that will grow in your garden should be encouraged. I've tried to grow A. tuberosa, which likes drier conditions, but wasn't very successful. I'll probably try again in a raised bed for better drainage, with lots of sun, as it is also a native US milkweed with very bright flowers. 'Gay Butterflies' is yellow and red, and 'Hello Yellow' is of course bright yellow. For Western US gardens there is a California native with subtle white and cream flowers. Apparently there are lots of different kinds of Asclepias, so there should be one suitable for just about every garden where the Monarchs fly.

Worthy to note that not only do Monarchs LIKE Asclepias, but Asclepias plants are the ONLY kind of plant that the larvae/caterpillars can survive on. The caterpillars do not eat any other host plant. It helps, too, that the plants are truly lovely.

I have grown Milkweed for two years. The Monarch caterpillars eat all of the leaves off of the plant. So, don't kill the caterpillars. My plants came back last year and bloomed again after the leaves were eaten. I had a couple of the caterpillars build their chrysalis on the side of my greenhouse. I took pictures of them at certain stages. It was very interesting and exciting to watch them develop into butterflys and fly away.

Swamp milkweed is a great addition to any butterfly garden.

It's well behaved and grows in a wide range of climates, despite it's name. Although, it probably grows better given care like that of it's natural conditions.

Swamp milkweed is prone to aphid infestations, though not so bad. It's also prone to milkweed bug, such as the beetle, infestations but not as much as the thicker stemmed milkweeds.

Butterflies flock to this particular milkweed because it's tall, attractively colored and the foliage is suffiently tender for larvae.

Swamp Milkweed blooms are very pretty, but it is extremely susceptible to aphids. I plant mine in the back of my yard where it is there for butterflies, but the aphid-attacked plants won't be in full view.

I have read that it is hardy in zones 3-9.

This plant is native to at least the Piedmont area of Virginia, & I am lucky to have a couple of clumps growing wild in a couple of semi-shady spots on my property. Since they are growing in areas that do get mowed at least once a year, when my perennial gardens are finally established, I will probably relocate these lovely clumps to safety.

The pink flower clusters are pretty, with a subtle sweet fragrance. As others have stated, they're very attractive to butterflies.

Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata is native to Texas and other States.