Cinderella Swamp Milkweed

Light Needs

Full Sun

(At Least 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

3-5 Feet

Mature Spread

1-3 Feet

Growing Zones

3 to 9

It's not often that a gardener gets to make a beautiful statement of color and texture in their garden and saves a species of insect at the same time. While Cinderella Swamp Milkweed Asclepias is enjoyed for its rose colored tufts of flowers swaying high above the green foliage, including it in your garden landscape will help to create a habitat that attracts the Monarch butterfly, who feeds on the nectar of the flowers, spins its cocoon and attaches it to the leaves, and whose caterpillar will then feed on the leaves when it hatches. Milkweed also attracts bees and other butterflies, and they, in turn, pollinate the flowers of perennials, trees and food crops across the country, ensuring that we have beautiful flowers to enjoy and food year after year.

Milkweed is native to North America, and more specifically, the eastern and central portions of the United States. Hardy in Zones 3-9, it grows everywhere but the hottest tip of Southern Florida along streams, on edges of ponds and bogs and in damp areas across the country. Have that one spot that is too wet for anything to reliably grow? Save our pollinators and enjoy the spot of color in an otherwise under-utilized area at the same time.

Cinderella Swamp Milkweed Care

Although it is best suited for wet areas, you can successfully grow Asclepias in well draining moist garden soil. It prefers full sun and will bloom in the summer. Plant in the spring after the danger of the last frost has passed. Water frequently until it is established and then to create a continually moist habitat for best results. Fertilization is not needed, and it prefers a slightly acidic to neutral soil, pH 6.0 to 8.0. Asclepias will spread via its soft fleshy roots or by seed pods which split open in the fall and release thousands of seeds that float on the air thanks to silky parachutes.

Deadhead only if you wish to prevent the seeds from ripening and being distributed. No division of plants are needed as they will spread via underground roots quite effectively when in the right soil. Mulch with well composted organic material to help keep soil moist in marginal areas. Winter protection is not required in most areas, but mulch lightly in the harshest winter regions.

Cinderella Swamp Milkweed Spacing

Asclepias incarnata can grow up to 60 inches tall and spread out 36 inches, so give them space between plants of 12 to 36 inches for best results. This versatile and essential perennial makes a great erosion control on banks, and serves equally as well as a pond edge plant, a native garden inhabitant, a butterfly garden anchor as well as simply edging your walkway or patio for a beautiful effect. Become an important part of the butterfly trail today by planting these beautiful, useful plants in your garden or landscape this spring.