Illustration
Prairie Smoke
Geum triflorum
Also called old man's whiskers, purple avens, three-flowered avens, long-plumed purple avens, grandfather's beard and lion's beard
Prairie Smoke blooms from May through July.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Prairie Smoke
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–7. Expect it to reach about 16 in tall and 8 in wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
No toxicity note is on file for Prairie Smoke. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. 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.
When to plant Prairie Smoke
Plant Prairie Smoke 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 5, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 7, spring means April to June and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to July.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Prairie Smoke get?
16 intall5 ft 7 inan adult8 inwideSee Prairie Smoke 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 Prairie Smoke
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Prairie Smoke about 8 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Prairie Smoke 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
Prairie Smoke's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 9 published sources on September 23, 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.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- The Morton ArboretumLisle, Illinoisheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- prairienursery.comPrairie Nursery (Westfield, Wisconsin)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and pests
- Chicago Botanic GardenA Comparative Evaluation Study of Geum spp.hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, soil, diseases and pests
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, spread, sun, bloom months and color, soil, diseases and pests
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower CenterUniversity of Texas at Austinheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and soil
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, Wisconsin Horticultureheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and soil
- Prairie Moon NurseryWinona, Minnesotaheight, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
- Plant AddictsAre Avens Poisonous?, a genus articlepests and toxicity
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Explore similar plants
You might also like
Foliage
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.