Asclepias - Bloodflower, Butterfly Weed, Milkweed, Silkweed, Swan Plant

(Ascle'pias)

DESCRIPTION: Most of these perennials are from North America, but at least one is from South Africa and one is found in tropical America. Nearly all of these erect plants grow 2 or 3 feet high, but one, A. physocarpa (also known as Gomphocarpus physocarpus and commonly known as the Swan Plant), grows up to 6 feet high with a spread of 2 feet. This plant has lance-shaped, medium green, hairy leaves. During the summer, umbels of creamy or greenish-white flowers are produced; these are followed by interesting, globular seed pods, which are large and inflated and covered with soft bristles. A. tuberosa, the Butterfly Weed, produces lance-shaped, light green leaves and flat-topped clusters of small, bright orange flowers during the summer.

POTTING: Grow these plants in sandy, humus rich, well-drained soil in a sunny spot. A. incarnata grows best in wet, boggy soil. A. curassavica, the Bloodflower, is native to tropical America. This plant should be grown in a minimum temperature of 60 degrees. It can also be treated as an annual by starting indoors and transplanting outdoors when the weather warms up, or it can be planted permanently outdoors in the far South. A. physocarpa should be planted in a position that is protected against cold winds in cooler climates. When they are planted indoors, they should be potted in equal quantities of loam, peat and leaf mold. In the winter, the soil should be kept rather dry. The old shoots should be shortened in February, and as soon as the new ones are an inch or so high, the plants are repotted. The ends of the shoots should be pinched to encourage bushy growth.

PROPAGATION: Seeds can be sown in the fall or spring in light, sandy soil in a cold frame or sheltered place outdoors. The plants can also be lifted and separated in the spring, but they shouldn't be disturbed unnecessarily because they usually do not bloom as well until they are established again. When they are grown indoors, cuttings, made from young shoots, can be inserted in pots of sandy peat and placed in a propagating case in the hothouse in March, or seeds can be planted at the same time.

VARIETIES: A. tuberosa; A. syriaca (purple flowers); A. incarnata (rose-purple); A. Hallii (greenish-white and purple); A. curassavica; A. physocarpa.

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