| SUN | SOIL MOISTURE | HEIGHT |
|---|---|---|
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4' |
| BLOOM | USDA ZONES | BLOOM COLOR |
|---|---|---|
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3.5" square pots - Nursery Pick Up or USPS |
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| Price: $8 | Available: 12 |
We routinely have Swamp Milkweed go from seed to flower in one year! While it does prefer wetter areas in full or part sun, we have a large clump growing well in a surprisingly shady area. This particular flower bed is in a recessed area under a roof line AND is on the east side of the house AND is behind a row of large shade trees. The only direct sun it receives is very early morning light that comes in under the big trees. The rest of the time it receives little in the way of full sun. The four plants there grow tall with multiple stems and flower profusely for weeks. Drip irrigation is installed in this bed and waters once every three days for a few minutes and this has proven to be adequate.
Swamp Milkweeds are perhaps the most attractive milkweeds to Monarchs. Some research suggests that having at least a few swampers planted helps to increase egg deposition on other species of milkweeds as well. A potential downside to all milkweeds is that they get aphids. This is easily remedied with a blast from a garden hose. The plants don’t seem to suffer but they can turn the plant unsightly from their sticky droppings. It’s best to try and keep on top of them as they appear. We have used a commercially prepared, clove oil based, insecticidal soap with good results and with a homemade spray based on castile soap. Instructions can be found online.
Swamp Milkweed is a native milkweed in Ohio and has the widest distribution of any milkweed in North America. If you don’t have a moist or wet area to plant consider purchasing a drip irrigation kit and snake it just beneath the soil or mulch and connect it to a battery operated timer valve. It takes all the guesswork out of watering and it opens up your landscape to a brand new palette of plants. Please contact us for further information on irrigation. We’re happy to help!
| Unreported | |
 | Unreported (Absent for area) |
| Native | |
 | Native in state (NA Native and Present in state, but not Present in county) |
 | Native in state and Present in county (NA Native and Present in state, and Present in county) |
 | Rare in state and Present in county (NA Native and Rare in state, and Present in county) |
 | Extirpated/Historic in state/Native (NA Native and Reported in county) |
 | Adventive or Introduced state (NA Native and Adventive in state, and Present in county) |
| Exotic Occurrences | |
 | Exotic in state (Exotic and Present in state, but not Present in county) |
 | Exotic in state and Present in county (Exotic and Present in state, and Present in county) |
| Other | |
 | Noxious in state (Noxious in state, and Present in county) |
 | Questionable Presence (cross-hatched) |
Another easily grown milkweed for moist or wet areas with half-day sun or more. It’s a terrific performer in the nursery and in our relatively dry flower beds with a little irrigation when needed. Flower color is variable ranging from a deep pink to white.
Please note that Riverside Native Perennials (RNP) only ships our potted “35” product via USPS. We generally can have your plants boxed up and ready to go within two or three days. All other products including our flat of plugs, 1-gallon and 3-gallon containers are only available for nursery pick up in Delaware, OH. For large orders of any of our products we can arrange shipping at an extra cost. Please contact the nursery for additional information.
It’s important to note that when we send plants to you, presentation is everything! We recognize that you’re expecting healthy plants to arrive safely on your doorstep ready to be planted and that is what we’re selling. Further, we want you to know that while we are a fully licensed and inspected perennial nursery in the state of Ohio…we are in Ohio! That means we are subject to Ohio weather. The average frost-free date for our area is May 15. So even though you may live in Florida or California your plants are growing under Ohio conditions and we do not heat our greenhouses due to the expense. Our plants may be slightly delayed but again it’s because we’re in a Zone 5 area. Because we ship nationwide, we ship plants at all times of the year. If it’s winter in Ohio, you’ll be getting dormant plants. If it’s spring or summer in Ohio, you’ll be getting plants of various sizes that are actively growing. Plants shipped during fall in Ohio may be dormant or may be heading towards dormancy. This is all natural and we do not try to modify or prolong the growing season other than to grow them in an unheated greenhouse. Even in an unheated greenhouse our plants are much further along and growing well early in the spring than if they were planted outside in Zone 5. If you would like additional information about sizes for a particular species, please contact us via email.
In 2021 RNP partnered with a shipping professional to design and develop a shipping system that could reasonably be expected to survive the USPS mail room and transportation process. After several design sessions and going back to the drawing board on more than a couple of occasions we created a shipping box system that, to us, is bulletproof. It is strong, lightweight and, to date, has not failed in shipping nearly 150 packages of plants to all corners of the country.
Once selected from our greenhouse benches, your plants are placed into a small plastic bag to maintain moisture during shipping. To keep the soil in the pot we created a cardboard insert that perfectly fits into the top of our 35 containers. The insert has a cutout that surrounds to plant stem without damaging it. The plastic bag and insert are secured by two rubber bands. Each bagged plant is then placed into an individual corrugated cardboard box which perfectly fits the 35 container, and which locks it in place so that it will not move during transit. Four individual boxes are then placed into another, even heavier duty corrugated cardboard master shipping box. The whole effect is that of double boxing your plants. They are safe and secure for the long trip to your home landscape!
The system only works with 4 individual boxes being packed into a single master shipping box so we encourage you to buy four plants or a multiple of four plants. You can buy less than four plants but we will need to send all the cardboard for four plants in order for the shipping system to succeed as designed.
