Korean angelica
Angelica gigas ·
Thick purple stems carry domed heads of the deepest beetroot red in late summer, crawling with bees and wasps. Every part of the plant is stained purple.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early August to mid September
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around Korean angelica
The planner designed this bed around Korean angelica 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 Korean angelica stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Korean angelica × 1, purple
- 2 Dianthus 'Kahori' × 8, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 8, white
- 4 Sneezeweed × 3, yellow
- 5 Columbine meadow rue × 5, lavender
- 6 Hardy gladiolus × 5, pink
- 7 Grape hyacinth × 12, blue
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 globes. The others are open bowls, bells, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- A classic partner for sneezeweed. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
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 columbine meadow rue (3 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 7 weeks. From early August to mid September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With dianthus 'Kahori' and sneezeweed in early August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 25 of the 25 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Winter heath is the first into flower, in late January, and sneezeweed the last to finish, in late September. When the flowers are over, dianthus 'Kahori' and winter heath keep the bed from looking bare.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 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 Korean angelica 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.
Architectural and strange, and best planted where it catches the eye. It dies after flowering, so let it drop seed, or sow a few each year to keep it going.
- A bold accent in late summer
- Moist borders and stream sides
- Pollinator planting
What to plant with Korean angelica
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway': in flower together for six weeks, from early August; happy in the same moist soil.
- Sneezeweed: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for seven weeks; medium leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; fine leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about Korean angelica
Does Korean angelica need sun or shade?
Korean angelica 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 soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does Korean angelica grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °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 Korean angelica flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early August to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid August to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early August to mid September |
| Zone 6 | Early August to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Early August to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Early August to mid September |
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 Korean angelica be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 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 Korean angelica plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 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 Korean angelica poisonous?
Yes: mild toxicity to people. The sap can make skin burn or blister in strong sunlight.
Is there a native plant like Korean angelica?
Korean angelica is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- New York ironweed: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 20 in taller, medium leaves, not bold.
- Hardy hibiscus: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in wider, red, pink or white, not purple.
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in taller, 6 in wider.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will Korean angelica spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Dies after flowering and returns from seed. Thin the seedlings and leave a few each year.
What flowers after Korean angelica?
Korean angelica is over by mid September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Blue wood aster: from mid September to mid October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Montauk daisy: from mid September to late October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Korean angelica look like in winter?
Korean angelica 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.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early August to mid September; globes; purple, red
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- 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.