Goat’s beard
* Common name: Goat’s beard
Goat’s beard prefers damp woodsy sites, but it also holds its own in the dry shade and root competition of big trees.
* Botanical name: Aruncus dioicus and aethusifolius
* What it is: Goat’s beard is a perennial flower that produces upright white plumes in mid to late spring that look similar to the more familiar astilbe.
The U.S. native version (Aruncus dioicus) grows about four feet tall and blooms in April and May. It’s a good pollinator plant, especially useful as a host plant to the dusky azure butterfly.
The Korean version (Aruncus aethusifolius) is much shorter – topping out at about one foot – and it blooms a bit later (May into June).
Both prefer damp, part-shade locations, such as along streams and in the dappled light of damp woodlands. However, goat’s beard is also surprisingly good at competing with tree roots, which often create dry shade conditions.
Goat’s beard is mostly trouble-free. Rabbits don’t like it, but plants may occasionally develop leaf spot (a fungal disease) or get browsed by deer.
An interesting hybrid between the two species is goat’s beard ‘Misty Lace,’ a variety that grows about two feet tall and has somewhat fern-like leaves. It blooms in May and June.
* Size: Native goat’s beard grows about four feet tall, sometimes even taller counting the flower spikes. Space plants two to two-and-a-half feet apart. Korean goat’s beard grows about one foot tall. Space those about 18 inches apart.
* Where to use: Any damp, part-shade or morning-sun spot is ideal, such as under or around a grove of trees, as a backdrop perennial along an east-facing wall or fence, or edging a shady pond or stream. A rain garden is another good use.
* Care: Adequate water is the main care issue. A naturally damp site solves that, but add water if the weather turns hot and dry and the leaf edges start to brown.
A scattering of a balanced, organic granular fertilizer early each spring (or a topping of compost) is helpful but usually not necessary.
Flower spikes can be cut off after bloom if you’re a neat gardener. Otherwise, let the browned plumes alone and just cut winter-killed plants back to the ground at the end of winter before new growth begins.
Despite the height, staking usually isn’t necessary.
Dig and divide sections in early fall if plants are growing beyond where you want.
* Great partners: Mix into a part-shade, cottage-style, pollinator garden with other perennials that like similar conditions, such as monarda (bee balm), mountain mint, swamp milkweed, cardinal flower, liatris, Culver’s root, Bowman’s root, and Joe Pye weed. The ferny leaves and white plumes contrast nicely with the more rounded forms of hosta and coralbells. Fothergilla, Virginia sweetspire, smooth hydrangea, buttonbush, and summersweet are good native shrub choices that prefer similar conditions.