Asclepias incarnata, Pink Swamp Milkweed

Asclepias incarnata

Pink Swamp Milkweed

• Full sun to very light shade
• Average to wet soils (they do just fine in garden settings)
• 3' to 5' tall (can be taller in very wet settings) 12" to 24" spacing
• Ontario Native, Beginner Friendly, Meadow to wetland ecosystems, as well as gardens.

This member of the milkweed family adapts easily and elegantly to garden cultivation. They will grow to between 3’ and 5’ tall, depending on available moisture. Best in full sun, they bloom in July in the Ottawa area. Loved by butterflies and other pollinators, this milkweed tends to stay in a single location, without the tendency to wander around and visit every corner of the garden that got their more adventurous relative, Asclepias syriaca banished to the Ontario ‘Noxious Weeds’ list for far too long.

Monarch butterfly photo by R. A. Nonenmacher via Wikimedia Commons