False Solomon's seal
Maianthemum racemosum · Asparagaceae
Arching stems of pleated leaves end in a creamy, scented plume of flowers in spring, followed by red berries. The leaves turn gold in autumn.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early May to early June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around false Solomon's seal
The planner designed this bed around false Solomon's seal 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 false Solomon's seal stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 False Solomon's seal × 3, white
- 2 Blue star creeper × 19, blue
- 3 Foamflower × 7, white
- 4 Southern wood fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 5 Korean feather reed grass × 1, pink
- 6 Indian pink × 3, red
- 7 Double snowdrop × 12, white
- 8 Fawn lily 'White Beauty' × 3, white
Why this plant
- A classic partner for foamflower. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over Indian pink (20 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to southern wood fern (3½ ft) and Korean feather reed grass (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 five weeks. From early May to early June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With foamflower and fawn lily 'White Beauty' in early May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 48% of the planted ground. White is the colour seen most, on 4 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers. False Solomon's seal stands beside foamflower, a proven pairing.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where false Solomon's seal 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.
It has the graceful arch of Solomon's seal but carries its flowers at the tip of the stem, where they show. Slow to establish, then it makes a long-lived colony.
- Native woodland gardens
- Arching form among ferns and hostas
- Berries for birds
What to plant with false Solomon's seal
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; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about false Solomon's seal
Does false Solomon's seal need sun or shade?
False Solomon's seal 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 wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does false Solomon's seal 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 false Solomon's seal flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to early June. 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 mid June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 6 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 7 | Late April to late May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to late 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 false Solomon's seal be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
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 false Solomon's seal plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 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 false Solomon's seal 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 false Solomon's seal?
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 false Solomon's seal?
False Solomon's seal is over by early 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.
- 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 false Solomon's seal look like in winter?
False Solomon's seal 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 false Solomon's seal good for bees and butterflies?
False Solomon's seal is visited by pollinators, bees, moths and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- 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
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early May to early June; feathery plumes; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Arching, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Asparagaceae
- Comes from
- North America to Mexico
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, moths, songbirds
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.