Swamp Milkweed yellowing :(

ked1985

9 years ago

I purchased a swamp milkweed plant (Ice Ballet) a couple weeks ago and planted it in a sunny but wet area of my yard. I have some mean clay in the back that tends to retain water about 3-4 inches down. Ever since I planted it the leaves have started to yellow from the bottom up, picture attached (these fell off just by touching them).

It's been raining a lot in No. VA since the beginning of the week and the yellowing has quickened. Could it be getting... *too* much water? I have a bee balm and BES planted in front of it (a bit drier) that seem to be doing fine. Not sure if I should wait it out, or dig it up and put it somewhere else. Thoughts?

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
lets see a pic of the whole...

but transplant shock is on top of the list.. [and re-digging it.. will not help shock ...

how big a transplant was it???

ken
ked1985
Original Author
9 years ago
I'll grab a picture of the plant close up when I get home tonight. I've attached a blurry one in the meantime... it was from far away. It wasn't a very big transplant in terms of milkweed (about ~18 inches). You can see the yellowing leaves, though... about 5 have fallen off since planting.

I cleared a bunch of rocks (hard to get all those suckers) and stuff to make the bed but haven't finished edging/mulch since it's been so rainy!
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aachenelf z5 Mpls
9 years ago
The plant in the photo looks fine to me. It's probably just settling in yet.

'Ice Ballet' is an absolutely wonderful plant. You're going to love it especially when it gets big and these things DO GET BIG. The fragrance from the flowers is heavenly.

Kevin
dbarron
9 years ago
I had the nominate species growing where it was underwater part of the year...and one wet year, it was 6 1/2 to 7 feet high...I don't think too wet is a problem...though (this is just a theory) shifting how much moisture it was getting in it's pot vs the moisture level it's getting now. I don't know...but it seems when conditions change like that...there is adjustment shock.