A beautiful selection of our Missouri native Swamp Weed, Asclepias incarnata, Cinderella brings all the magic we crave to the garden. A delightful, easy-care perennial, this princess offers three months of vanilla-scented, rose-pink flowers in large, compact clusters from midsummer to early fall.  Adding to the wonder, the flowers, heavily laden with nectar and pollen, are beautiful to hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects.

Gather bouquets of Cinderella all summer long; the long stems are excellent for cutting and are long-lasting. Cut flower tip: sear the ends of the cut stems over a flame to stop the milky sap from leaking out. Following the royal flowers, typical milkweed seed pods develop, which rupture to reveal seeds with long, silvery-white, silky hairs. These add a high-style element to dried flower arrangements.

This species grows in loose clumps with its slowly creeping rhizomes. It is not invasive and can be safely mixed in with other perennials in the border. Ascelpias incarnate is a long-lived perennial native to Missouri and North America.

Plant in full sun to part shade. Deadheading the flowers will stimulate another bloom cycle about a month after the first.