Wild quinine
Parthenium integrifolium · Asteraceae
Flat-topped clusters of small, pearly white, button-like flowers that stay fresh from June to September, above large, rough, toothed leaves.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around wild quinine
The planner designed this bed around wild quinine 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 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why wild quinine stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 2 Winter heath × 11, pink
- 3 October daphne × 5, pink
- 4 Showy goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Sideoats grama × 3, purple
- 7 Star of Persia × 4, purple
- 8 Tulip 'Queen of Night' × 8, purple
Why this plant
- The only flat plates. The others are bells, dense clusters, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is among the tallest plants 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 sideoats grama (2½ 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 10 weeks. From late June to late August.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 55% of the planted ground. The back corners are held by wild quinine and showy goldenrod, the tallest plants on the plan. Purple runs through the planting: 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers have it.
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 wild quinine 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.
A clean white that lasts all summer and then dries to grey seed heads. It does the job of yarrow with a bolder leaf, and stands without staking.
- Long-lasting white in prairie planting
- Cut and dried flowers
- Dry, sunny borders
What to plant with wild quinine
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for nine weeks, from late June; medium leaves against its bold ones.
- Rattlesnake master: in flower together for seven weeks, from mid July.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; fine leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about wild quinine
Does wild quinine need sun or shade?
Wild quinine grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does wild quinine grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °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.
When does wild quinine flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 6 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid August |
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 wild quinine be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many wild quinine plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 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 wild quinine 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 wild quinine?
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 flowers after wild quinine?
Wild quinine is over by late August. 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, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Blue mistflower: from late August to mid October, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does wild quinine look like in winter?
Wild quinine 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 quinine good for bees and butterflies?
Wild quinine is visited by pollinators and bees.
It is native to the United States.
In these guides
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for bees
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to late August; flat plates; white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Eastern and central United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees
- Stands up to
- Drought, poor soil, erosion
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.