Giant fleeceflower
Persicaria polymorpha ·
A shrub-sized perennial covered in huge, creamy white plumes from June to August, ageing to pink. It grows from nothing to head height each year and stays in a clump.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early June to late August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around giant fleeceflower
The planner designed this bed around giant fleeceflower when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why giant fleeceflower stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Giant fleeceflower × 1, white
- 2 Bearberry × 4, pink
- 3 Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' × 7, red
- 4 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 5 Southernwood × 3, grey-green leaves
- 6 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Allium 'Globemaster' × 5, purple
- 9 Persian fritillary × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are fine and medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- The only plumes. The others are bells, daisies, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 ft it is the tallest plant 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 sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' (4½ 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 12 weeks. From early June to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With blanket flower 'Arizona Sun', sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' and little bluestem 'The Blues' in early August: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Bearberry and blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' finish the front edge. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, from early August.
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 giant fleeceflower goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ 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.
It does the work of a shrub and flowers for ten weeks. Unlike its knotweed relatives it does not run or seed. Give it a square metre and a half, and plant it in threes only in very large gardens.
- A substitute for a large shrub
- The back of a big border
- A long season of white
What to plant with giant fleeceflower
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway': in flower together for five weeks, from late July.
- Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster': in flower together for 10 weeks, from late June; fine leaves against its bold ones.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; fine leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about giant fleeceflower
Does giant fleeceflower need sun or shade?
Giant fleeceflower 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 a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does giant fleeceflower 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 giant fleeceflower flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early June to late August |
| Zone 6 | Early June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Late May to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Late May to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Late May to early August |
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 giant fleeceflower be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many giant fleeceflower plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is there a native plant like giant fleeceflower?
Giant fleeceflower is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Hardy hibiscus: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in shorter, 12 in narrower.
- White false indigo: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 24 in shorter, 12 in narrower.
- Sweet Joe Pye weed: the same job in a bed; 12 in narrower, flowers late July to early September.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after giant fleeceflower?
Giant fleeceflower is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does giant fleeceflower look like in winter?
Giant fleeceflower 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 Persicaria
- Bistort 'Superba' Persicaria bistorta 'Superba'
- Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' Persicaria affinis 'Darjeeling Red'
- Mountain fleece 'Firetail' Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail'
- Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Golden Arrow'
In these guides
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early June to late August; feathery plumes; white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- 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.