Goat's beard
Aruncus dioicus · Rosaceae
A shrub-sized perennial with huge, feathery plumes of cream flowers in early summer, like a giant astilbe, above handsome divided leaves.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early June to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around goat's beard
The planner designed this bed around goat's beard when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why goat's beard stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Goat's beard × 1, cream
- 2 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 8, pink
- 3 Stemless gentian × 31, blue
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
- 6 Bowles' golden sedge × 4, chartreuse leaves
- 7 Golden ragwort × 17, yellow
- 8 Easter lily × 4, white
- 9 Snowdrop × 10, white
- 10 Camassia × 4, blue
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are spires, trumpets, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only cream. Cream sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 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 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' (3½ 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 four weeks. From early June to late June.
- In company. With stemless gentian and Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' in early June: 3 kinds at once.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 70% of the planted ground. Snowdrop is the first into flower, in early March, and Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' the last to finish, in early October. The scheme leans cool (pink, blue and purple) and uses yellow for warmth, with cream and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good.
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 goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 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 fills the space of a shrub and should be placed like one, as a single feature at the back. It needs moisture and takes a few years to reach full size, then lives for decades without division.
- Height and mass at the back of a shady border
- Beside water
- A substitute for a shrub in moist shade
What to plant with goat's beard
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Astilbe: in flower together for two weeks, from late June; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Ostrich fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Astilbe vs Goat's beard.
Questions about goat's beard
Does goat's beard need sun or shade?
Goat's beard grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), 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 grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 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 goat's beard flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to late June. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid June to early July |
| Zone 5 | Early June to late June |
| Zone 6 | Early June to late June |
| Zone 7 | Late 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 goat's beard be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many goat's beard plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 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 goat's beard 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 goat's beard?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after goat's beard?
Goat's beard 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, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Russian sage: from mid July to mid September, 4 ft tall.
- Tiger lily: from late July to late August, 4 ft tall.
What does goat's beard look like in winter?
Goat's beard dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is goat's beard good for bees and butterflies?
Goat's beard is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of dusky azure feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Aruncus
- Dwarf goat's beard Aruncus aethusifolius
- Goat's beard 'Misty Lace' Aruncus 'Misty Lace'
In these guides
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- 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
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7
In flower in: June
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early June to late June; feathery plumes; cream
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- North America, Eurasia, North Carolina
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Dusky azure
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.