Description
Plant Details
Botanical Name: Asclepias incarnata
Host Plant to: Monarch, Queen, and Soldier butterflies
Nectar Plant to: Bees, swallowtails, and other pollinators
Plant Life Cycle: Perennial
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade
Soil Type: Moist, loamy or sandy
Moisture Needs: Wet to consistently moist; handles flooding
Hardiness Zones: 3–9
Plant Height: 3–5 ft
Spacing: 18–24 inches
Bloom Season: Mid-summer to early fall
Flower Color: Pink to rose
Special Features: Deer-resistant, long bloom time, monarch-friendly
Description
If you’ve got a wet spot in the yard where nothing else is happy, try swamp milkweed. It actually likes soggy ground and full sun, and once it gets settled, you don’t have to do much. It sends up tall stems with soft pink flowers that start blooming in midsummer. Bees and monarchs find it quick, and if it’s hot, you might even catch a little sweet scent off the blooms.
This milkweed plant is tough, but it doesn’t look rough. The flowers are delicate, and the leaves feed monarch caterpillars, which is reason enough to plant it. Come fall, the seed pods pop open and let out silky seeds that drift on the breeze. You can save a few for planting or just let them go. It’ll grow in a big container too, as long as it stays moist.
Once rooted, the swamp milkweed plant will come back every year with very little effort. It holds up in wind, handles flood-prone soil, and helps with erosion if planted on slopes. Hummingbirds like it too. It’s one of those native plants that looks good, helps pollinators, and doesn’t ask for much in return.
