Plantain-leaved pussytoes
Antennaria plantaginifolia · Asteraceae
A flat mat of woolly, silver-backed leaves, with fuzzy white flower heads like a kitten's toes on short stems in spring.
- Size
- 6 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers late April to late May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around plantain-leaved pussytoes
The planner designed this bed around plantain-leaved pussytoes when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting 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 plantain-leaved pussytoes stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Plantain-leaved pussytoes × 18, silver leaves
- 2 Sea thrift × 8, pink
- 3 Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' × 3, tan
- 4 Red valerian × 4, red
- 5 Eastern prickly pear × 1, yellow
- 6 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
- A classic partner for eastern prickly pear. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 18 plants in 3 groups (8, 5 and 5). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
- Beside eastern prickly pear. A recognised partner: the planner puts such plants together where it can.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, into winter. They cover the 13 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 34% of the planted ground. The back corners are held by little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' and brown-eyed Susan, the tallest plants on the plan. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, in mid June.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 1 Good, 3 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 plantain-leaved pussytoes goes in a border
At 6 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A native groundcover for the poorest, driest soil, where grass gives up. It is the food plant of the American lady butterfly's caterpillars, which may strip it briefly; it grows back.
- Dry, poor soil in sun
- Native lawn alternative in small areas
- Between stepping stones
What to plant with plantain-leaved pussytoes
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Prairie smoke: adds the flowers, late April to late May; tall enough (12 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Little bluestem: tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Eastern prickly pear: adds the flowers, mid June to early July; bold leaves against its medium ones; tall enough (10 in) to stand behind it.
Questions about plantain-leaved pussytoes
Does plantain-leaved pussytoes need sun or shade?
Plantain-leaved pussytoes 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 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 plantain-leaved pussytoes grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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.
How far apart should plantain-leaved pussytoes be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 in (15 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many plantain-leaved pussytoes plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 18 in three groups.
Is plantain-leaved pussytoes 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 plantain-leaved pussytoes?
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.
What does plantain-leaved pussytoes look like in winter?
Plantain-leaved pussytoes holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is plantain-leaved pussytoes good for bees and butterflies?
Plantain-leaved pussytoes is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of american lady 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.
More Antennaria
- Pussytoes Antennaria dioica
In these guides
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late April to late May; dense clusters; white, cream
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; silver, grey-green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Canada to Eastern United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Host plant for
- American lady
- Stands up to
- Drought, poor soil
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.