Wild ginger
Asarum canadense · Aristolochiaceae
Soft, heart-shaped, matte green leaves form a dense, weed-proof carpet in woodland shade. The maroon flowers hide at ground level.
- Size
- 6 in tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around wild ginger
The planner designed this bed around wild ginger when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why wild ginger stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wild ginger × 8, green leaves
- 2 Green-and-gold × 23, yellow
- 3 Tufted hair grass × 3, tan
- 4 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' × 3, white
- 5 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 6 Hellebore 'Pink Frost' × 3, pink
- 7 Snowdrop × 8, white
- 8 Fawn lily 'White Beauty' × 3, white
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 fawn lily 'White Beauty'. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 6 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 44% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Bold leaf against fine. Tufted hair grass is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 7 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 65% of the planted ground. White is the colour seen most, on 4 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers. The bed is tied together by its repeats: two kinds come round again along it, green-and-gold and wild ginger.
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 wild ginger 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.
The best native carpet for moist shade: slow to start, then dense enough to keep out weeds. Its broad, plain leaves are a calm base for ferns, trilliums and other woodlanders to rise through.
- Native groundcover for shade
- Under trees and shrubs
- A carpet beneath ferns and woodland flowers
What to plant with wild ginger
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Christmas fern: medium leaves against its bold ones; tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- White trillium: adds the flowers, mid April to mid May; medium leaves against its bold ones; tall enough (16 in) to stand behind it.
- Foamflower: adds the flowers, late April to late May; medium leaves against its bold ones; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about wild ginger
Does wild ginger need sun or shade?
Wild ginger grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
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 wild ginger grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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.
How far apart should wild ginger be planted?
10 in (25 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 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 wild ginger plants do I need?
At 10 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 17 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 13 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 55 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 eight in two groups.
Is wild ginger poisonous?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people. Contains aristolochic acid, which damages the kidneys. Do not eat any part of it, despite the name.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Do deer eat wild ginger?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does wild ginger look like in winter?
Wild ginger 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 wild ginger good for bees and butterflies?
Wild ginger is visited by pollinators, butterflies and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of pipevine swallowtail 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 and Canada.
More Asarum
- Chinese wild ginger Asarum splendens
- European wild ginger Asarum europaeum
In these guides
- Plants for deep shade
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 in (25 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Aristolochiaceae
- Comes from
- North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Pipevine swallowtail
- Stands up to
- Deer, wet soil, deep shade, erosion
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.