Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet' (Swamp Milkweed)

'Ice Ballet' is an attractive, white-flowering cultivar of Asclepias incarnata, also known as swamp milkweed, a native, upright, perennial wildflower well-known as an integral food source for the larval stages of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Growing to only three or three and a half feet tall, Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet' is easily identified by its compact size and its white, compound flowers, rather than it's parent species' purple-pink blooms. Just like other milkweeds, 'Ice Ballet' is also recognizable by its toxic milky sap that is produced from damaged tissues (hence the name milkweed). The plant's large blooms are fragrant, adding further appeal to the home garden, and its milky, toxic sap also makes it resistant to deer and rabbit damage. And after flowers begin to fade, milkweed's unique and attractive seed pods make it a sight to behold in the fall and winter too.

As a cultivar of traditional swamp milkweed, 'Ice Ballet' thrives in rich, wetter soil moisture conditions, and does best in full sun, but thanks to its smaller size, 'Ice Ballet' can also perform very well in medium moisture areas too. Its versatility for a variety of garden locations makes it an excellent addition to rain gardens and riverbank plantings, but also to wildflower meadows and naturalized borders, where it can monarchs and a variety of butterflies and other pollinators. With its obvious value to butterflies, and its less obvious value to hummingbirds and bees, Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet' is an excellent choice for pollinator gardens, meadows, and wetland restoration projects.