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Swamp Milkweed Collection

$55.99
$55.99 $69.99
per Collection
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ZONES  3-9 | Good to grow! Zone
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Our Swamp Milkweed Collection of 3 is the perfect start to your butterfly garden, rain garden, stream bed, or anywhere you want to see beautiful flowers and pollinators in wet soil. Pink and white flowers on tall stems with lovely long green leaves look beautiful in large plantings, or paired with other tall perennials. In fall, look for plentiful silky-haired seeds. Asclepias incarnata (also known as Rose Milkweed) is a native perennial, and the sole host plant of Monarch Butterflies. In time, these deer resistant plants will spread and naturalize to help your pollinator garden grow!

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Description

Our Swamp Milkweed Collection features a trio of long-lived native perennials with pink and white flowers. Asclepias, or Milkweed, are sun loving plants that are essential perennials for monarch butterflies providing food for caterpillars and nectar for adult butterflies. They bloom from mid-summer into early fall and, with their milky sap, are resistant to rabbits and deer. 'Rose' Swamp Milkweed will spread more slowly that its relatives, making it a better candidate to include in traditional perennial garden beds. Milkweed can be slow-growing, and slow to wake up from dormancy in spring, but these long-lived perennials are essential for the survival of monarch butterflies, and long-lived once established! We highly recommend giving these beauties a place in your garden. Mature plants range from 36-48" tall x 24-36” wide.

Our Swamp Milkweed Collection comes with 3 plants (1 of each) and covers approximately 12 square feet when planted together.


*Plants are subject to change due to availability. If we make substitutions, we feature plants with similar attributes suitable to the collection design.


Planting & Care

Asclepias (Milkweed) are sun loving plants that are essential perennials for monarch butterflies providing food for caterpillars and nectar for adult butterflies. They bloom from mid-summer into early fall and, with their milky sap, are resistant to rabbits and deer.

Asclepias can be divided into two groups for plant care; Asclepias tuberosa with orange (sometimes yellow) flowers and all the other species with pink (sometimes white) flowers.

  • Asclepias tuberosa (Orange Butterfly Weed) - this perennial stays dormant until later in the spring than many other plants, especially when grown in pots. It's fine to plant dormant plants; don't up-pot them for planting later in the growing season.
  1. Need sandy or gravelly soils (except the Clay form which does well in heavier soils including dry clay.)
  2. Does best with gravel mulches.
  3. After their second growing season, only requires deep but infrequent watering. Plant in full hot sun.
  4. Just a few handfuls of compost and Yum Yum Mix added to the planting hole is enough. Don't plant into a rich, highly-amended soil.

Special comments:

  • When planting dormant plants, water thoroughly after planting and wait to water again until the plant comes into active growth, at which time a deep watering every week or so is adequate. Take care not to overwater young transplants.
  • Asclepias has a long, carrot-like tap root that should remain undisturbed after planting and should NOT ever be divided.

Most Asclepias species are late to wake up in the spring, and will often be shipped as dormant plants. Don't despair if your milkweed is asleep. The white roots and woody crown are alive just waiting for consistently warm weather to wake up and begin to grow.these perennial species stay dormant later in the spring than many other plants, especially when they are grown in pots. It's fine to plant dormant plants; don't up-pot them for planting later in the growing season.

Preferred growing conditions:

  1. These species grow in a wide range of soil types, including clay.
  2. They don't need mulching (except in very hot climates).
  3. These are moisture-loving perennials and do well in wet to moderately moist soil conditions.
  4. Plant in full to part sun areas.
  5. They like compost enriched soils at planting time.

Special comments:

  • Asclepias syriaca and A. speciosa will spread to make big patches of plants and are best planted in parts of the landscape where they won't crowd out less vigorous plants. Not recommended for the prime spots in your perennial beds.
  • Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) is a more refined grower and is fine to include in perennial beds.

Oftentimes, Milkweeds won't grow much their first season in the ground, so be patient. They are establishing their root system and crown. By the second growing season, the plants will begin to get bigger and look more robust. Asclepias species are an odd bunch and don't behave like many other more familiar perennials. So be patient and accept their quirky nature.

Garden care:

  1. Fertilize Asclepias just once in fall with Yum Yum Mix and Planters II. - Naturalized plantings don't need additional fertilization.
  2. To encourage re-seeding and provide winter interest with their ornamental seed pods, leave the stems intact over the winter. In mid-spring, remove old stems just above ground level.
  3. All species of Asclepias are late to emerge in the spring, so don't be concerned if other perennials come up first and they remain dormant.

Shipping

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As soon as your order is placed you will receive a confirmation email. You will receive a second email the day your order ships telling you how it has been sent. Some perennials are shipped as potted plants, some as perennial roots packed in peat.  The ‘Plant Information’ section describes how that item will ship. All perennials and fall-planted bulbs are packaged to withstand shipping and are fully-guaranteed. Please open upon receipt and follow the instructions included.

Perennials and fall-planted bulbs are shipped at the proper planting time for your Growing Zone. Perennial and fall-planted bulb orders will arrive separately from seeds. If your order requires more than one shipment and all items are shipping to the same address, there is no additional shipping charge. See our shipping information page for approximate ship dates and more detailed information. If you have any questions, please call Customer Service at (801) 769-0300 or contact us by email or chat.

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Key Features

Light Requirements

  • Full Sun

Water Tolerance

Low-Water

Bloom Time

Early to late summer

Advantages

  • Bee Friendly
  • Attracts Butterflies
  • Deer Resistant
  • Fragrant
  • Cut Flowers
  • Mass Plantings
  • Naturalizes
  • Rabbit Resistant

Additional information

Mature Height

Heights vary from 3-4' tall

Mature Spread

Collection of 3 plants covers approx. 12 sq. ft.

Soil Type

  • Average Soil
  • Sandy Soil
  • Clay Soil

Soil Moisture

  • Average
  • Moist / Wet

Planting Time

  • Fall

Special Groups

  • High Country Gardens Exclusive

Growing Zones

  • Zone 3
  • Zone 4
  • Zone 5
  • Zone 6
  • Zone 7
  • Zone 8
  • Zone 9

Neonicotinoid Free

Yes

Can Send To PO Box

No

Ships to Hawaii & Alaska

No

Overall rating: 4.8333335 / 5 from 6 reviews.

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Reviews

All 3 plants thriving at the NJ shore and monarchs love them

"I moved back to the Jersey shore and am starting a pollinator garden with native plants. Milkweeds were growing wild everywhere when I was growing up here in the 60s but most of those habitats are gone. These 3 plants grew well in hot, dry weather and are all flowering. Even though I only have 3 so far, the monarchs are finding them and the pink flowers are a pretty addition to the garden. I plan on adding a larger stand of milkweeds next year."

— Janet (5/5)

Plants look great!

"Took plants out of box immediately and placed in protected area until able to plant. Plants were larger than expected and after a couple days standing upright and ready to plant in garden. After a couple weeks now, looking good in garden bed!"

— Gwen (5/5)

Healthy

"All arrived healthy. Just starting to grow."

— RainBlack (5/5)

I would buy this product again

"I bought one plant, it seems to be doing pretty well. Once in awhile the bottom leaves will discolor yellow and fall off, but no big deal. However, you need to watch for aphids- I had no idea these could be covered in aphids. I happened to notice this orange coloring all over the plant- they just suddenly appeared one day. But other than that I would recommend."

— Jen (5/5)

Monarch Magnet!

"I'm a long time gardener and Monarch butterfly enthusiast. I was given this milkweed collection as a gift last spring and initially planted the small specimens them in large pots. By the end of the summer all three plants had reached heights of around 2 feet and had leafed out beautifully. They were hosts to dozens of Monarch caterpillars. In the fall I transplanted the milkweed into a garden bed and they are sending up twice as many shoots this spring! Only down side to this milkweed are the aphids that inevitably arrive each summer."

— The G. (5/5)

They will help pollinator insects

"As pollinator plants."

— None (4/5)

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