Did you have both pink and white swamp milkweed?
Cathy

No, just pink/red incarnata. The other milkweed was Silky Gold. I know it is supposed to get 3-4 feet tall as well, but I don't think it does in my climate. At least it didn't last year, it only grew to about 18" tall. It did flower well, though.

I could be wrong, but it seems that my tropical seedlings have wider leaves than yours do.

Janet

When I posted the first time, I thought I was seeing pink swamp milkweed plants and also white ones, but I think the ones that I thought were white are probably actually pink and I was just seeing the tops of the plants that I thought were white. Anyway, they really do look like swamp milkweed to me.
Cathy

To me, too - incarnata.

Susan

I'd have to vote for swamp milkweed also. Here's a picture of mine about the same stage, the flash washed them out, but they do look alike.
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-B

I agree to Swamp, and janetg57, I think the leaves of Tropical are wider.
brandymulvaine- I actually used the same planting method as you, it works well!
S.B.

Yes they look just like the Asclepias incarnata sprouts I winter-sowed, from seed of a dark pink-colored Swamp milkweed. The stems have the same reddish tint.

Here's a pic of some of my Asclepias sprouts that are still in their containers. I just started potting these into small nursery pots today, where they will probably grow out their first season. The plan is to plant them out in the fall.

Upper left - A. purpurascens
Upper right - A. syriaca
Lower left - A. incarnata
Lower right - Cynanchum laeve

{{gwi:488993}}

Thanks for the help ID'ing! Now I have to decide what to do with all the seedlings. Hundreds of them. I was a little lazy last fall and didn't do anything with this bed. Should I pot them up and then transplant them when they get bigger, or can I leave them and move them later? I know they get a taproot, but will it develop in one season?

Yes, A. incarnata can be a prolific reseeder. It does not develop a tap root so it is pretty easy to transplant. They are pretty rugged little seedlings so you can dig them now or later, as you wish. I even moved a large plant last November! And it's fine, although it might be a little smaller than the other one this Spring.

I have A. incarnata 'Ice Ballet' and it reseeded pretty prolifically 2 Springs ago. I transplanted some to a new garden; gave some away in swaps; and even transplanted some down by a local pond.

Last year I collected the seed pods on all the Asclepias, and haven't noticed much reseeding this year.

So I would be able to move my 3-4 yr swamp milkweed??
If there is no taproot, it should be ok right? It's growing right under the fence-line and gets hidden by the maidengrass.
Saturniidaebreeder, I had hopes of moving these into the 55gal fish tank I plan to raise some cats in, but there still ittie-bittie!! I see myself picking roadside milkweed this year! How long do you keep them in this size container? Do they go in the ground or bigger pots?
-B

Asclepias incarnata is naturally a wetland plant, and it doesn't have any need to develop a taproot. You can definitely move your older plant, but I would do it in the early Spring or the early Fall. Course, I moved one in November last year, and it's fine this Spring. But I wouldn't move it now, unless it were a dire necessity.

I was surprised at the depth of the tap root on A. curassavica. When I pull up the old plants in early spring, they had tap roots about 3' long!

I didn't know that incarnata does not have a tap root. I've only planted seedlings, and just figured they hadn't developed a tap root yet.

Congratulations on all your seedlings everyone! Both my A. purpurescens have been eaten to the bones (or stems, LOL!). The darned milkweed beetles have attacked them twice. While I keep trying to get the juvenile beetles and eggs, I guess I miss a few. They always go to the tiny plants, including some of the curassavicas, but they really loved the purpurescens, so beware. I think if I had potted them up into pots I might have been able to better protect them. Ah, well, we live and learn!

Susan

I haven't seen any sign of caterpillars yet this year, maybe it's early for my area? Last year I don't think I saw them before late July. But honestly I was so busy with landscaping a very neglected (by previous owners) yard that I didn't take time to smell the flowers. This year should be less crazy and I plan on really looking at my gardens, not just weeding them!