Mountain fleece 'Firetail'
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail' ·
Slender, crimson, poker-like spikes held above a big mound of pointed leaves from midsummer until frost. A clump-former, unlike its invasive relatives.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 3½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early July to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around mountain fleece 'Firetail'
The planner designed this bed around mountain fleece 'Firetail' 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 mountain fleece 'Firetail' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mountain fleece 'Firetail' × 1, red
- 2 Winter heath × 4, pink
- 3 Horned violet × 20, purple
- 4 Anise hyssop × 3, lavender
- 5 Gray's sedge × 3, green
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Jonquil × 12, yellow
- 8 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 red.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ 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 Gray's sedge (2½ 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 14 weeks. From early July to early October.
- Closes the season. For its last four weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 25 of the 34 plants (74%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Cool colours (pink, purple, lavender and blue) with red and yellow as the warm notes, and green to calm things between them. The back corners are held by mountain fleece 'Firetail' and anise hyssop, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 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 mountain fleece 'Firetail' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Among the longest-flowering perennials, and a mainstay of naturalistic planting: the thin red spikes read as hundreds of small verticals. It needs moisture and dislikes hot, dry summers.
- Three months of red verticals
- Naturalistic planting with grasses
- Moist borders
What to plant with mountain fleece 'Firetail'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese anemone: in flower together for eight weeks, from mid August; medium leaves against its bold ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster': in flower together for 14 weeks, from early July; fine 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 mountain fleece 'Firetail'
Does mountain fleece 'Firetail' need sun or shade?
Mountain fleece 'Firetail' 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, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does mountain fleece 'Firetail' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 7. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °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 mountain fleece 'Firetail' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid July to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early July to early October |
| Zone 6 | Early July to early October |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early October |
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 mountain fleece 'Firetail' be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3½ ft (100 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (110 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many mountain fleece 'Firetail' plants do I need?
At 3 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
- 4 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 one in one group.
Is mountain fleece 'Firetail' 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.
Is there a native plant like mountain fleece 'Firetail'?
Mountain fleece 'Firetail' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Sneezeweed: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in narrower, flowers early August to late September.
- Bee balm 'Jacob Cline': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in narrower, flowers late June to mid August.
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe': 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 mountain fleece 'Firetail'?
Mountain fleece 'Firetail' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does mountain fleece 'Firetail' look like in winter?
Mountain fleece 'Firetail' 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'
- Giant fleeceflower Persicaria polymorpha
- Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' Persicaria affinis 'Darjeeling Red'
- Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Golden Arrow'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 3½ ft (100 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early July to early October; upright spires; red
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
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.