Goat’s beard ‘Misty Lace’

* Common name: Goat’s beard ‘Misty Lace’

* Botanical name: Aruncus ‘Misty Lace’

* What it is: A perennial flower with fern-like foliage, red stems, and feathery white flowers that bloom late May into June.

Goat’s beard looks much like astilbe, but the plants tolerate summer heat better and are tougher competitors in the dry shade under and near trees.

* Size: ‘Misty Lace’ is a compact hybrid of two species of goat’s beard, growing about 2 feet tall. Space plants 2 feet apart.

* Where to use: Ideal lighting is morning sun and afternoon shade or dappled sunlight all day. Does well as an underplanting among trees, as a shady to part-shade groundcover, or clustered in groups of three or five in a shade garden or along an eastern house foundation.

* Care: Keep the soil consistently damp the first season to establish the roots, then water during extended hot, dry spells if foliage starts to wilt or brown. Scatter a balanced organic or slow-acting fertilizer around the base of plants each spring. Snip off flower stalks when flowers finish, and cut browned plants to the ground at the end of winter.

* Great partner: Pairs nicely with variegated Solomon’s seal (taller) and sweet woodruff (shorter) as a white-themed, mixed-size grouping under trees. Fothergilla is a good shrub partner.