Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow'
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Golden Arrow' · Polygonaceae
Bright golden-yellow leaves and slim, deep red flower spikes: a strong contrast that lasts from midsummer to frost.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow'
The planner designed this bed around mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' 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 'Golden Arrow' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' × 3, red
- 2 Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue' × 4, blue
- 3 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 8, pink
- 4 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 5 Blue rush 'Blue Arrows' × 3, blue-green leaves
- 6 Eastern prickly pear × 1, yellow
- 7 Star of Persia × 5, purple
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, flat plates and globes. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red.
Why here
- At the back. It stands clear of the other plants: none is close in front of it, or close behind.
- A step in the back row. Next to blue rush 'Blue Arrows' (3 ft) and swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' (3½ 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 13 weeks. From mid July to early October.
- Closes the season. For its last 7 weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 22 of the 22 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Heights step up from about 8 in at the front to 3 ft at the back. There is more bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' than anything else, 8 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 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 'Golden Arrow' 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.
Smaller and slower than green-leaved mountain fleece, with the same long season. Gold and red together are bold, so use it as a focal group.
- Gold foliage with red flowers
- A long season in a moist border
- A focal group
What to plant with mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Black mondo grass: its black leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (8 in) to stand in front of it.
- Japanese forest grass: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Lady's mantle: flowers first, late May to early July, so the spot is never empty; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow'
Does mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' need sun or shade?
Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' 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 a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' 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 'Golden Arrow' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid 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 | Mid July to early October |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to early October |
| Zone 7 | Early July 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 'Golden Arrow' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (70 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 mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 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 mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' 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 mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow'?
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 mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow'?
Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' 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.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
What does mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' look like in winter?
Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' 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 mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' good for bees and butterflies?
Mountain fleece 'Golden Arrow' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
More Persicaria
- Bistort 'Superba' Persicaria bistorta 'Superba'
- Giant fleeceflower Persicaria polymorpha
- Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' Persicaria affinis 'Darjeeling Red'
- Mountain fleece 'Firetail' Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail'
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (70 cm) tall, 2½ ft (70 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid July to early October; upright spires; red, pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; chartreuse
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Comes from
- Easterm Afghanistan and Central China, West Himalayas, Pakistan
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, humidity, wet 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.