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). Though the parent species is known for its larger size and purple flowers, Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet' is easily identified by its compact size, growing to only 3-3.5' tall, and its icy white compound flowers. 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. After the cultivar's showy white 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 fertile, wetter soil 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 in terms of soil type makes this cultivar an excellent addition to rain gardens and riverbank plantings, but also to wildflower meadows and naturalized borders, where it can feed monarchs and a variety of other butterflies and 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.