Bowman's root
Gillenia trifoliata · Rosaceae
A cloud of starry white flowers on wiry red stems in early summer, on a bushy plant whose leaves turn bronze-red in autumn. Native and long-lived.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Bowman's root
The planner designed this bed around Bowman's root when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why Bowman's root stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bowman's root × 4, white
- 2 Green-and-gold × 11, yellow
- 3 Leadwort × 10, blue
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Pieris 'Little Heath' × 1, variegated leaves
- 6 Hellebore 'Ivory Prince' × 3, cream
- 7 Red spider lily × 5, red
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are daisies, dense clusters, open bowls and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to pieris 'Little Heath' (2½ ft) and garden phlox 'David' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 2 groups (3 and 1). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late May to late June.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The front edge is finished with leadwort and green-and-gold. The scheme leans hot (yellow and red) and uses blue for relief, with white and cream to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Bowman's root goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It has the lightness of gaura in a plant that lives for decades and tolerates shade. The red calyces stay after the petals fall, and the autumn colour is as good as a shrub's.
- An airy filler for part shade
- Woodland edges
- Native planting with autumn colour
What to plant with Bowman's root
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Bluestar: in flower together for three weeks, from late May.
- Wild geranium: low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about Bowman's root
Does Bowman's root need sun or shade?
Bowman's root grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Bowman's root grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Bowman's root flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Bowman's root be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Bowman's root plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used four in two groups.
Is Bowman's root poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat Bowman's root?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after Bowman's root?
Bowman's root is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Bowman's root look like in winter?
Bowman's root dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; airy sprays; white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern U.S.A., Canada
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.