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Queen of the Prairie
Filipendula rubra
Queen of the Prairie blooms from June through July.
This entry comes from our curated library and has not yet been independently checked against outside sources. Curated is not unreliable: a standing audit keeps every entry internally consistent, and the source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open.
Growing Queen of the Prairie
Plant it in full sun. It prefers high water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–9. Expect it to reach about 4.9 ft tall and 2.6 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years.
When to plant Queen of the Prairie
Plant Queen of the Prairie 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. For the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 9 range, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from June to July.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in March.
Good to know about Queen of the Prairie
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Worth knowing
Consistent moisture is the master lever: wet soil lets it take more sun without scorching, wards off powdery mildew, and (in rich ground) speeds its rhizome spread. per Illinois Extension and Morton
Full sun or part shade?
Sources disagree, and moisture is the tie-breaker. Full sun where the soil stays reliably wet and summers are cool, part shade in hot-summer regions to stop scorching. per Illinois Extension and Morton
Spreads by underground rhizomes
It creeps by underground rhizomes and self-seeds into long-lived colonies, fastest in rich, moist ground. Give it room, or spade the perimeter each spring to contain it. per Morton and Missouri
Pollen for bees, not nectar
The fuzzy plumes are stamen-dense and give pollen, not nectar, so the visitors are pollen foragers: bees (including sweat bees), beetles and flies, plus some butterflies. per Morton and Lady Bird Johnson
Deer and rabbit resistant
Both deer and rabbits mostly pass it by; it is rated deer-resistant and seldom damaged by rabbits. Very hungry wildlife may still sample it. per Iowa State and Morton
Buy nursery stock, never wild
In the wild it is a fen specialist and is state-listed as endangered or threatened in several states, so buy nursery-propagated plants and never dig it from the wild. per Illinois Extension and Michigan Natural Features Inventory
What pairs well with Queen of the Prairie
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.
Flowering Crabapple
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 20 ft, for the layer behind it.
Joe Pye Weed
Shares full sun and high water; overlaps, then carries the display into early fall; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; both offer pollinator forage; this one spreads, so it will crowd its neighbor in time.
Bee Balm
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; overlaps, then carries the display into late summer; both offer pollinator forage; lower at 3 ft, for the front of the border.
Aster
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; blooms in early fall, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; this one spreads, so it will crowd its neighbor in time.
Eastern Redbud
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate to high water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 23 ft, for the layer behind it.
Tulip Tree
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; opens in late spring and overlaps into this one's season; both offer pollinator forage; both are native plants.
Passionflower
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; overlaps, then carries the display into early fall; climbs to 13 ft behind it, height without the footprint; both offer pollinator forage.
Viburnum
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; both are native plants.
Try Queen of the Prairie with its top companions in a garden →
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