Foamflower
Tiarella cordifolia · Saxifragaceae
Fluffy, white bottle-brush flowers stand above a carpet of maple-shaped leaves in spring. It spreads by runners into a weed-proof mat, and the leaves bronze in winter.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Late April to late May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around foamflower
The planner designed this bed around foamflower 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 stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Foamflower × 11, white
- 2 Bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' × 8, pink
- 3 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 4 Korean feather reed grass × 1, pink
- 5 Gray's sedge × 3, green
- 6 Boxwood 'Green Gem' × 3, dark green leaves
- 7 Glory-of-the-snow × 12, blue
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 8, yellow
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are bells, daisies, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
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 68% of the edge.
- 11 plants in 3 runs (5, 3 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late April to late May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' and Gray's sedge in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 29 of the 29 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The scheme leans cool (pink, lavender and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white and green to calm things between them. The back corners are held by blue wood aster and Korean feather reed grass, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. 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 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: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The best native carpet for moist shade, and pretty in leaf all year. A sheet of it in flower among ferns looks like foam on the woodland floor.
- Native groundcover for shade
- Spring flowers under trees
- Edging a woodland path
What to plant with foamflower
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; tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- Wild ginger: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Woodland phlox: in flower together for five weeks, from late April; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about foamflower
Does foamflower need sun or shade?
Foamflower 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 foamflower 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 foamflower flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April 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 | Early May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 5 | Late April to late May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to late May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to mid May |
| Zone 8 | Early 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 foamflower 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 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many foamflower 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 threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 11 in three groups.
Is foamflower 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 foamflower?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after foamflower?
Foamflower is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': from early June to early October, 18 in tall.
What does foamflower look like in winter?
Foamflower 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.
Is foamflower good for bees and butterflies?
Foamflower is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies, moths and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Tiarella
- Foamflower 'Sugar and Spice' Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice'
- Wherry's foamflower Tiarella cordifolia var. collina
In these guides
- Plants for deep shade
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- 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
- 10 in (25 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 April to late May; upright spires; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
- Comes from
- Nova Scotia, Appalachian Mountains to Alabama West to Minnesota
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, moths, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.