Different cultivars of Swamp Milkweed (A. incarnata)

[John Beaulieu]

I have managed to find four varieties of Swamp Milkweed at garden centres and perennial growers; 'Soul Mate', 'Ice Ballet', 'Milk Maid' and 'Rose'. I also see that there is a 'Cinderella' variety too. My Ice Ballet has flowered (white of course) and the others are in bud. I am wondering if all of the pinkish varieties are really different or are they simply commercial names given to the regular Swamp Milkweed? Are they all different or improvements over the wild species? Are there any other varieties?

I would imagine that when different cultivars of the same species are growing in the same garden, there is a good chance that some cross pollinating will occur between the different colour varieties. Has anyone had any experience with this?

I hope to gather seed this year, and would like to trade for other varieties that are hardy in zone 4. I particularly would like other native Canadian species. Any Canadians out there interested?

Lots of questions...

[Chip]

You know of more varieties of incarnata than I do but there is another type of swamp milkweed - pulchra - said to be a sub species but there are differences in growth habit, leaf morphology, ecological requirements and flowering time that make one wonder whether it might deserve to be recognizeed as a separate species. Gary Stell is the expert on this form and is a source of seeds. You should be able to connect with him by googling "pulchra".

[Pat]

We have 2 types of those asclepias here - one that mostly doesn't branch but has a lot of stems coming up from the ground, hardy here in PA but comes up weeks later than the broad-leaved milkweeds. It blooms once and even if you nip off all the heads and don't allow pods to form, it doesn't bloom any more, but it will branch a bit. The other is almost like a bush, it branches out a lot, the leaves are much narrower, and if you get rid of the dead blossoms, more branches and more blossoms form throughout the season. It seems to be good for nectaring, but we don't find too many eggs there until very late summer when not much else is still in bloom.