BloomsEye816 / 1,878checked
Ligularia - foliage plant, illustrated plant cardIllustration
Ligularia - real photo
Photo by Marco Mussita / iNaturalist (CC BY)
Ligularia cut-out illustration
Illustration
Photo credits and licenses

Real photographs from naturalists and photographers worldwide, each used under its own license. Credit: Photo by Marco Mussita / iNaturalist (CC BY). How photos are sourced →

Ligularia

Ligularia

Ligularia blooms from July through August.

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Bloom calendar
Bloom time
Jul–Aug
not yet checked
Hardiness
Zones 4–8
checked
Sun
Part shade
checked
Water
High water
not yet checked
Mature size
4 ft × 2.5 ft
checked
Type
Perennial
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Ligularia

Plant it in part shade. It prefers high water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 4 ft tall and 2.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (not yet checked).

Verification
Core facts checked
What was checked

Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 19 sources it was checked against

When to plant Ligularia

Plant Ligularia in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from July to August.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Ligularia get?

Illustration of Ligularia drawn to scale beside an adult4 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult2.5 ftwide
About 4 ft tall and 2.5 ft wide at maturity: chest-high beside an adult.

See Ligularia in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Ligularia

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Ligularia about 2.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
2.5 ft apart
Per 10 sq ft
about 2
4 by 8 ft bed
about 3

Add Ligularia to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Ligularia's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 19 published sources on July 31, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

Good to know about Ligularia

Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.

Safety

Contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, so treat it as not for eating. ASPCA does not list it, so cat, dog and horse risk is unclassified rather than cleared. per PubMed Central and ASPCA

Worth knowing

Its big thin leaves flop dramatically in hot midday sun, even in moist soil, then perk up again by evening. A limp midday look is usually heat, not damage. per NC State and Missouri Botanical

Heat sets the real limit

NC State lists zones 4a to 8b, Minnesota Extension stretches to 9. All agree it struggles in hot summers whatever the number. Heat, not cold, is the real limit. per NC State and Minnesota

Bloom time depends on species

Rounded-leaf dentata types flower June to July; the tall narrow-spike types bloom later, from mid summer into early fall. Buy the species that matches the timing you want. per Missouri Botanical and NC State

Slugs are the main pest

The cool, moist shade it loves is exactly what slugs and snails want. They rasp irregular smooth-edged holes in the big leaves, so plan control from the start. per UC Statewide IPM and NC State

Deer usually pass it by

The University of Minnesota says the thick, tough, serrated leaves put deer off. As with any deer-resistant plant, hungry deer may still browse it when food is scarce. per Minnesota

Dark purple-leaf cultivars

Several dentata cultivars, including 'Desdemona' and 'Othello', carry dark bronze-purple leaves with purple undersides and stems: a bold reason to grow it beyond the yellow flowers. per Missouri Botanical and Penn State

What pairs well with Ligularia

Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.

  • Rhododendron

    Rhododendron

    Shares part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in late spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.

  • Snowdrop

    Snowdrop

    Shares part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in late winter, before this one opens; low at 5 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.

  • Pansy

    Pansy

    Takes part sun to part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.

  • Globeflower

    Globeflower

    Takes part sun to part shade and high water; blooms in late spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; lower at 2 ft, for the front of the border.

  • Primrose

    Primrose

    Shares part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.

  • Columbine

    Columbine

    Shares part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; lower at 2 ft, for the front of the border.

  • Windflower

    Windflower

    Takes part sun to part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; low at 6 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.

  • Flowering Dogwood

    Flowering Dogwood

    Shares part shade and moderate to high water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; taller at 23 ft, for the layer behind it.

All 8 companion pairings for Ligularia →

Try Ligularia with its top companions in a garden →

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Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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