7 Flowering Native Retention Pond Plants that grow on rip-rap embankments in Wichita Kansas

 

#4 Rose Milkweed

Asclepias Incarnata

Pros: Milkweed is the exclusive host to Monarch Butterflies

Cons:  Coarse

Also called Swamp Milkweed, this is an endearing wildflower. We cannot say enough good things about it! Like all milkweeds, it is a valued host plant for the Monarch Butterfly. And actually, this whispy, flood tolerant plant is abuzz long before we first notice it- waying gently with constant visits from pollinators. It is a part of many native pollinator and butterflies’ lives. These ecological treasures create a noticeable benefit for the fish. Should the Rose Milkweed be near the top of all our lists?

In Wichita, Kansas and Sedgwick County, our Rose Milkweeds generally have pink blooms. These variable bloomers burst forth with fragrant umbels during June or July, persisting 4 or 5 weeks, sometimes through August. Thriving in saturated soils of clay or rock, this milkweed establishes itself thru perennial rhizomes along the water’s edge creating attractive clusters.