Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed

Please note: All plants pre-ordered online will be available for in-person pickup at our office (3257 West 41st Street Cleveland, OH 44109) the last week in May/first weekend in June. We will reach out to everyone who purchased plants to arrange a pick-up time. Plant orders cannot be shipped, and plants will not be included in shipping costs of orders that include other items from our shop.

Help Monarch Butterflies!

Milkweed is an Ohio native that is the sole host of the Monarch caterpillar. Monarchs are becoming increasingly threatened due to habitat loss and the use of herbicide. Growing milkweed in your garden is a simple way to contribute to the effort to save the Monarchs!

Milkweed refers to a group a prairie plants in the genus Asclepias. There are many varieties that grow in Ohio. Milkweeds are perennials which secrete a milky latex from their stems and produce seed pods filled with silky hairs.

Swamp Milkweed, is also commonly called Red Milkweed, Marsh Milkweed, or Rose Milkweed. That lovely vanilla fragrance you detect coming from large rosy pink flowers possibly hosting several Monarch or Swallowtail butterflies is Swamp Milkweed. 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. If growing Swamp Milkweed from seed, try fall planting - or if planting in spring be sure to first moist-cold stratify the seeds for a month. Large numbers of Rose Milkweed can often be seen growing in wetland settings.

Our plants are grown in Rust Belt Rider’s Tilth soil using organic practices, inoculated with beneficial endomycorrhizal fungi and planted in eco-friendly, biodegradable 4” or 6” pots.

1st Year: A traditional plant start in a 4” pot.

2nd Year: 2-year-old plants in a half-gallon pot. These plants are larger, have been overwintered, and have more established roots.

Your purchase helps support our nonprofit's educational programming. With each native you plant, you help provide a healthy ecosystem that creates important food, shelter, and medicine and improves habitats for Ohio pollinators. Thank you for your support – happy planting!