Doll's eyes
Actaea pachypoda · Ranunculaceae
A woodland native grown for its late-summer fruit: white berries, each with a black dot, on thick red stalks. The spring flowers are small white tufts.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early May to late May
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around doll's eyes
The planner designed this bed around doll's eyes when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why doll's eyes stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Doll's eyes × 3, white
- 2 Lingonberry × 5, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 12, blue
- 4 Tall astilbe 'Superba' × 3, purple
- 5 Korean feather reed grass × 1, pink
- 6 Hosta 'Fire and Ice' × 3, variegated leaves
- 7 Hardy cyclamen × 3, pink
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is seen over hosta 'Fire and Ice' (14 in) in front of it.
- A step in the back row. Next to Korean feather reed grass (4 ft) and tall astilbe 'Superba' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From early May to late May.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 38% of the planted ground. Something is in flower for 23 weeks between mid April and mid October, with a pause of 5 weeks from late June. Leadwort is planted in three places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where doll's eyes goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The white, black-eyed berries on red stalks stand out in the dim light of late-summer shade, when little else is happening. They are very poisonous, so this is not a plant for gardens with young children.
- Late-summer interest in a woodland garden
- Native shade planting
- A curiosity beside a shady path
What to plant with doll's eyes
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Wild ginger: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Foamflower: in flower together for four weeks, from early May; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about doll's eyes
Does doll's eyes need sun or shade?
Doll's eyes grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does doll's eyes grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 doll's eyes flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid May to early June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 7 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to early May |
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 doll's eyes be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many doll's eyes 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 three in one group.
Is doll's eyes poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts, especially the berries and roots, are highly poisonous if eaten and can affect the heart.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like doll's eyes?
These come closest to doing what doll's eyes does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- False Solomon's seal: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 6 in narrower.
- Wild geranium: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 10 in shorter, 6 in narrower.
- Bowman's root: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in taller, flowers late May to late June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat doll's eyes?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after doll's eyes?
Doll's eyes is over by late May. 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.
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': from early June to early October, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does doll's eyes look like in winter?
Doll's eyes dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is doll's eyes good for bees and butterflies?
Doll's eyes is visited by pollinators, bees and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Actaea
- Black cohosh Actaea racemosa
- Bugbane 'Brunette' Actaea simplex 'Brunette'
- Bugbane 'Hillside Black Beauty' Actaea simplex 'Hillside Black Beauty'
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra
In these guides
- Plants for deep shade
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, deep shade
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.