Rose milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), also called Swamp Milkweed due to its affinity for moist sites, is a wide-ranging milkweed species. Rose milkweed grows from North Dakota to Maine, south to New Mexico and Florida, with outlying populations to Idaho and Utah.
Rose Milkweed looks quite a bit different than Common Milkweed (A. syriaca), and for general landscaping purposes it is a more easy-to-manage plant. The form of Rose Milkweed is similar to Butterfly Weed (A. tuberosa) except with pink flowers. It also has a clumping habit, and won't spread from runners like Common Milkweed.
Rose Milkweed is an excellent plant to include in landscapes - It offers food for Monarch Butterfly caterpillars without taking over the whole landscape! It actually prefers a site with a little bit of shelter, such as an open clearing on the East side of a patch of woods, or along a river floodplain where there's plenty of trees at the periphery.
Though Rose Milkweed is also called Swamp Milkweed, the plants do well in average garden soils as long as they don't dry out too much in the Summer.
Since milkweeds have slightly toxic sap, deer and rabbits avoid them; aphids can be a problem in some areas. The sweet nectar attracts all manner of butterflies and moths.
Rose milkweed is very easy to grow - a site with full sun but a little shelter will yield the best growth. Plants do well in average garden soil, and look very nice combined with other native meadow perennials.
We currently grow Rose Milkweed in both RootMaker 32-Cell Plug Flats and our 1-Quart SuperPlugs. The Quart SuperPlugs will reach maturity a little more quickly, but if you have a large area to plant, the RootMaker plugs are the most economical way to go.
| Common Name: | Rose Milkweed |
| Botanical Name: | Asclepias incarnata |
| Availability: | Not Available for 2022 |
