Dwarf goat's beard
Aruncus aethusifolius ·
A miniature goat's beard: a neat mound of finely cut, ferny leaves with short cream plumes in early summer and red autumn colour.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around dwarf goat's beard
The planner designed this bed around dwarf goat's beard 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 dwarf goat's beard stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dwarf goat's beard × 3, cream
- 2 Strawberry 'Lipstick' × 13, pink
- 3 Blue wood aster × 5, lavender
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Pieris 'Little Heath' × 1, variegated leaves
- 6 Lady's mantle × 3, green
- 7 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are open bowls, daisies, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only cream. Cream sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 27% of the edge.
- 3 plants in one run. An unbroken run of one kind gives the edge a clean line.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With strawberry 'Lipstick' and lady's mantle in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Strawberry 'Lipstick' repeats along the bed to tie it together. Strawberry 'Lipstick' flowers longest, for 17 weeks.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where dwarf goat's beard goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
A fern-like texture on a plant that also flowers and colours in autumn. Use it at the front of shade plantings, where astilbes would be too tall.
- Edging a shady path
- Small-scale texture beside hostas
- Rock gardens in part shade
What to plant with dwarf goat's beard
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
- Coral bells: its burgundy leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about dwarf goat's beard
Does dwarf goat's beard need sun or shade?
Dwarf goat's beard grows in 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, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does dwarf goat's beard 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 dwarf goat's beard 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 late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid 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 dwarf goat's beard be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many dwarf goat's beard plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like dwarf goat's beard?
Dwarf goat's beard is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Blue-eyed grass: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in narrower, blue, not cream.
- Chives: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; purple, not cream, wants average soil.
- Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana': the same job in a bed; 4 in shorter, flowers early May to mid June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after dwarf goat's beard?
Dwarf goat's beard 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.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips': from late June to late August, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does dwarf goat's beard look like in winter?
Dwarf goat's beard 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.
More Aruncus
- Goat's beard Aruncus dioicus
- Goat's beard 'Misty Lace' Aruncus 'Misty Lace'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; feathery plumes; cream
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.