Gas plant
Dictamnus albus · Rutaceae
Spires of white or mauve-pink flowers with long stamens in early summer above glossy, lemon-scented leaves. It lives for decades and hates to be moved.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around gas plant
The planner designed this bed around gas plant when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why gas plant stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Gas plant × 1, white
- 2 Dianthus 'Kahori' × 8, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 11, blue
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Gray's sedge × 3, green
- 6 Spurge 'Chameleon' × 3, purple leaves
- 7 Meadow saffron × 8, pink
- 8 Star of Persia × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, dense clusters and globes. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Gray's sedge (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With dianthus 'Kahori', Gray's sedge and star of Persia in late May: 4 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. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 50 to 50, left to right. Leadwort stands beside meadow saffron, a proven pairing.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where gas plant goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
Slow to establish, then permanent and trouble-free: plant it once, as a single feature, and leave it. It is called gas plant because the oil it gives off on a still evening can be lit with a match.
- A long-lived specimen for a sunny border
- Scented foliage
- Starry seed pods for late interest
What to plant with gas plant
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Siberian iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May.
- Blue false indigo: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about gas plant
Does gas plant need sun or shade?
Gas plant grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does gas plant 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 gas plant 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 3 | Mid June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early June to early July |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late 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 gas plant 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 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many gas plant 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 one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is gas plant poisonous?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people. The oil on the leaves and seed pods can cause a blistering rash on skin exposed to sunlight. Wear gloves and long sleeves to handle it.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a native plant like gas plant?
Gas plant comes from Southern and Central Europe and Central Asia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Beardtongue 'Husker Red': the same flowering time and the same colour; a drift, not a specimen, 6 in narrower.
- Bowman's root: the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; a drift, not a specimen, fine leaves, not medium.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat gas plant?
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 gas plant?
Gas plant is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does gas plant look like in winter?
Gas plant 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.
Is gas plant good for bees and butterflies?
Gas plant is visited by pollinators and butterflies.
More Dictamnus
- Purple gas plant Dictamnus albus var. purpureus
In these guides
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Plants for butterflies
- 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
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; upright spires; white, pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rutaceae
- Comes from
- Southern and Central Europe and Central Asia
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
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.