Mexican hat
Ratibida columnifera · Asteraceae
Flowers like small sombreros: a tall, thimble-shaped cone with a brim of drooping petals in yellow or mahogany red, on wiry stems all summer.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around Mexican hat
The planner designed this bed around Mexican hat 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 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why Mexican hat stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mexican hat × 2, red
- 2 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 3 Candytuft × 3, white
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Smooth aster 'Bluebird' × 4, blue
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only red.
Why here
- In the middle. At 24 in it is the step between silver sage (12 in) in front and smooth aster 'Bluebird' (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 2 plants in 2 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
- Fine leaf against bold. Silver sage is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 12 weeks. From late June to early September.
- Fills a gap. For 7 of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 21 of the 21 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Winter heath and candytuft carry the bed through winter. Low plants run along 97% of the front edge: silver sage, winter heath and candytuft.
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 Mexican hat goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: weaver. A light, airy plant threaded singly between sturdier ones to knit the planting together.
Light and wiry, it weaves between other plants without crowding them. It flowers for months on poor, dry soil, and seeds itself to make up for a short life.
- Dry meadows and prairie planting
- Hot, sunny banks
- Wildflower gardens
What to plant with Mexican hat
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Blanket flower: in flower together for 12 weeks, from late June; happy in the same dry soil.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same dry soil.
- Butterfly weed: in flower together for seven weeks, from late June; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about Mexican hat
Does Mexican hat need sun or shade?
Mexican hat grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does Mexican hat 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 Mexican hat flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to early September |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to early September |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to early September |
| Zone 9 | Early June to early 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 Mexican hat be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Mexican hat plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, threaded between sturdier plants.
In the bed above, the planner used two in two groups.
Is Mexican hat 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 Mexican hat?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will Mexican hat spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Short-lived, but keeps going by self-seeding. Thin or move seedlings where they are not wanted.
What flowers after Mexican hat?
Mexican hat is over by early 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.
- Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall.
- October daphne: from mid September to late October, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Mexican hat look like in winter?
Mexican hat 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 Mexican hat good for bees and butterflies?
Mexican hat is visited by pollinators, bees and butterflies.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Ratibida
- Grey-headed coneflower Ratibida pinnata
In these guides
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Late June to early September; daisies; red, yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Drought, poor soil
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.