Goat's beard 'Misty Lace'
Aruncus 'Misty Lace' ·
A goat's beard of middle size: ferny, dark green leaves on red stems, and airy plumes of cream in early summer.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around goat's beard 'Misty Lace'
The planner designed this bed around goat's beard 'Misty Lace' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why goat's beard 'Misty Lace' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Goat's beard 'Misty Lace' × 3, cream
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 6, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 16, blue
- 4 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
- 6 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 7 Spring starflower × 12, blue
- 8 Daffodil × 7, orange
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only cream. Cream sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- At the back, and only just seen. At 2½ ft it is about the height of globe arborvitae 'Danica' (24 in) in front of it.
- A step in the back row. Next to foxglove beardtongue (3½ ft) and brown-eyed Susan (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 late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' and foxglove beardtongue in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by foxglove beardtongue and brown-eyed Susan, the tallest plants on the plan. The scheme leans cool (pink and blue) and uses yellow and orange for warmth, with cream and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 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 goat's beard 'Misty Lace' 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 fills the gap between the dwarf goat's beard and the giant one, and tolerates heat and humidity better than either. Use it where an astilbe would scorch.
- Plumes for part shade
- Warm, humid gardens where astilbe struggles
- Woodland edges
What to plant with goat's beard 'Misty Lace'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta 'Halcyon': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Siberian bugloss: bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about goat's beard 'Misty Lace'
Does goat's beard 'Misty Lace' need sun or shade?
Goat's beard 'Misty Lace' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does goat's beard 'Misty Lace' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does goat's beard 'Misty Lace' 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 |
| Zone 9 | Early May to mid 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 goat's beard 'Misty Lace' be planted?
20 in (50 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 (70 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many goat's beard 'Misty Lace' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 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 there a native plant like goat's beard 'Misty Lace'?
Goat's beard 'Misty Lace' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Bowman's root: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in taller, 4 in wider.
- Beardtongue 'Husker Red': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not cream, medium leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after goat's beard 'Misty Lace'?
Goat's beard 'Misty Lace' is over by late 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.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does goat's beard 'Misty Lace' look like in winter?
Goat's beard 'Misty Lace' 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 Aruncus
- Dwarf goat's beard Aruncus aethusifolius
- Goat's beard Aruncus dioicus
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (70 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; feathery plumes; cream, white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- 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.