Least invasive milkweed

11 years ago

I have common milkweed on my property but want to put some milkweed in my garden areas. Anyone know which variety is the least invasive?

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Comments (8)

erictammy
Original Author
11 years ago
I have all sorts of nectar and host plants for butterflies in my garden already.
erictammy
Original Author
11 years ago
Right now I'm looking at Swamp Milkweed (Red, or Cinderella)and Butterfly Weed. Any suggestions on which is least invasive?
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Ok, you're right; I don't think it was red. The swamp milkweed pix all look right, and the one at Dave's Garden with the seed pods is exactly it. Thanks! Show & Tell time: Thank you, Sherrie; this was pure luck that this bed turned out the way it did; I somehow ended up tossing all my 'vigorous, comma, things that are pink" into this bed, and it worked. I'm constantly trying to figure out what to plant in the 'back' of this bed, as the whole thing is on a slope and surrounds a flagpole, and I like to put annuals on the other side of it. Here's some shots of the area. I dug it all out in 2006, and expanded it in 2007: Feb 4, 2006- this part of the bed is planted in the composted area. The sandy area around the flagpole was composted over in spring of 2007...(I don't think I planted it out in 06) and that's where I plant the shorter annuals: 2007 saw a major expansion of the whole area out around that shrub on the right, and another shrub on the left. Here's a shot from the roof: By July 28 of '07 it wasn't looking too shabby! 2008 was a 'weedy-out-of-control' gardening season for me, and I was not thrilled with the 'jungle' look of my gardens last year. Mostly because I didn't take the time & effort to tend to them like they should have been, and I got this 'jungle' from my livingroom window. Plus, I went "sunflower crazy" and they towered over everything in the yard, making everything just too darned overgrown looking. the B&Bs were happy, but I'm going to shorten things up a bit this year:
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Hi, I don't think many plants compete well with the ivy. Someone here can probably comment more on that. The plants you've chosen have a rather large variety of growing requirements... V. bluebells generally take a rich woodsy soil with a fair amount of shade. V. creeper is a ground cover that I don't think will do well in pots. Elderberries get very big, sucker and like quite a bit of water and at least part sun. Green coneflowers get very big. I have huge clumps of them growing by the creek. I am not positive of their growing requirements, but they are growing wild in my yard in part sun and above average moisture. Great blue lobelia requires at least part sun and above average moisture. That might do OK in a pot. Some types of milkweed have a large taproot, so I'm not sure they will do well in pots. I'm not sure if they all have taproots, though. Blue wood aster may do OK in pots. Most types of JPW get very large. They like above average water and at least part sun, preferably full. While I think there are many natives that would do well in pots, I am not sure all those you have in mind would work well. I hope I'm not discouraging you from trying natives in pots. You may want to do a little more research on what you chose to try. Hopefully others here can offer their thoughts. I'm by no means an expert. As far as IDs, the only one I know from your pics is the one in the pink pot--a hosta. Blue Ridge Mountain Girl
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I am an ecologist working in the Fingerlakes region. We perform a wide array of invasive plant control to restore native habitats. Although Common, Swamp, and Butterfly Milkweed are agressive and very quick to spread, they are not ever considered invasive in most of the United States. People can often label "weedy" and "undesirable" plants as invaeive just because they do not like them. A plant thay it considered invasive is usually non-native and has no real ecological value. That being said, there are many actually invasive plants in the Milkweed family. Please do not ever plant Climbing Milkweed. Pale and Black Swallowart are also in the milkweed and are considered highly invasive. You may see many butterflys on these plants, such as Monarchs, but the Monarch larvae cannot eat the leaves of these types of Milkweed and will die. Please DO NOT plant them!
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wifey2mikey
11 years ago
I have tropical milkweed, butterfly weed, and swamp milkweed. I've not had problems with any of them being invasive.

Hope that helps
~Laura
erictammy
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, Laura. That's what I wanted to know.
terrene
11 years ago
Tropical, swamp and orange milkweeds are clumping and do not spread by runners. They might reseed a bit if you let the plants go to seed.

None are invasive so I would select your preference by color and cultural conditions. Swamp milkweed prefers a moister soil and comes in a pretty pink or white. Fast growing for a perennial milkweed. Butterfly weed (orange) likes good drainage and is very drought tolerant.

I love Asclepias curassavica and grow it like an annual here. Imo it's one of the prettiest milkweeds, plus it makes great caterpillar food.
Tony G
11 years ago
in zone 5, tropical will reseed a little bit but it's not hard to weed them out in spring. Don't count on those volunteers being reliable plants because they get started way too late to sustain many monarchs.

Like Terrene, I LOVE tropical as an annual but start with plants or cuttings for best results. Good luck, Tony

PS...you can easily start with cuttings if you overwinter one or two plants indoors.
terrene
11 years ago
Tony, I have read of others who have over-wintered A. curassavica in the garage or basement. How do you overwinter yours? It is so easy to start from seed, that I hadn't thought much about doing that. I over-wintered some Salvia 'Black & Blue' this past winter in the garage and the plants did great (and are now out in the garden) so the tropical milkweed would probably do likewise.

I've got common milkweed that is already 1-2 feet high, and no Monarchs yet, so do I even need the plants earlier? Although maybe it would attract them earlier to the yard if there are more total milkweeds growing.
erictammy
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks everyone. I'm placing it in a moist area so I am going to try the Swamp milkweed, IF I can find it. It's sold out everywhere.

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Least invasive milkweed

Comments (8)

erictammy
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erictammy
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wifey2mikey

erictammy
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Least invasive milkweed

Comments (8)

erictammyOriginal Author

erictammyOriginal Author

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wifey2mikey

erictammyOriginal Author

terrene

Tony G

terrene

erictammyOriginal Author

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erictammy
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erictammy
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