Foamflower 'Sugar and Spice'
Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice' ·
Glossy, deeply cut leaves with a dark maroon blotch along the veins, under bottlebrushes of pink buds and white flowers.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 14 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early May to mid June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around foamflower 'Sugar and Spice'
The planner designed this bed around foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' × 8, pink
- 2 Creeping mahonia × 8, yellow
- 3 Silvery glade fern × 3, green leaves
- 4 Tall astilbe 'Superba' × 3, purple
- 5 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 6 Hardy cyclamen × 8, pink
- 7 Double snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, plumes and bells. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 10 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 36% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From early May to mid June.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 23 of the 23 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Something is in flower for 29 weeks between early February and mid October, with a pause of 5 weeks from late June. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, from early May.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 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 foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' goes in a border
At 10 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: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A clumping foamflower with patterned leaves that stay good all year, and a long season of scented flowers in spring. One of the best plants for the edge of a shady bed.
- Patterned foliage for shade
- Edging a woodland path
- Spring flowers with ferns
What to plant with foamflower 'Sugar and Spice'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same moist soil.
- Woodland phlox: in flower together for four weeks, from early May; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about foamflower 'Sugar and Spice'
Does foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' need sun or shade?
Foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' 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 foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to mid 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 May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 6 | Late April to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early June |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to early June |
| Zone 9 | Early 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 foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' 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 14 in (35 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' 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 a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
Is there a native plant like foamflower 'Sugar and Spice'?
Foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Wherry's foamflower: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink.
- Woodland phlox: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late April to late May, blue, lavender or white, not pink.
- Creeping Jacob's ladder: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in taller, blue, not pink.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after foamflower 'Sugar and Spice'?
Foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' is over by mid 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.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': from early June to early October, 18 in tall.
- Foxglove: from early June to mid July, 4 ft tall.
What does foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' look like in winter?
Foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Tiarella
- Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
- Wherry's foamflower Tiarella cordifolia var. collina
In these guides
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 10 in (25 cm) tall, 14 in (35 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to mid June; upright spires; pink, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green, burgundy
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
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.