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Actaea racemosa ‘Asheville’
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  • Actaea racemosa ‘Asheville’
  • Actaea racemosa ‘Asheville’
Actaea racemosa ‘Asheville’

Actaea racemosa ‘Asheville’

Bugbane
RHS AGM This plant/cultivar has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit because it has proved to be reliable in appropriate conditions and a good performing plant. For more information on RHS Award of Garden Merit plants visit rhs.org.uk/plants
Great Plant Picks Selected as a Great Plant Picks recommendation for strong performance in Pacific Northwest gardens. For more information visit www.greatplantpicks.org
ACTAEA (Ranunculaceae) bugbane

Actaea are woodland perennials grown for divided foliage and slender white flower spikes that rise above the leaves in late summer and autumn. They prefer cool, moist, humus rich soils and shade or morning sun, and are at their best where the ground does not dry out.

Clumps are slow to establish but long lived once settled, building a quiet, vertical presence in darker plantings. Flowers are visited by insects, and many species produce showy but poisonous berries. All parts of the plant are toxic if ingested.

A tall, early flowering black cohosh selected from wild seed collected near Asheville, North Carolina in 1994 by Free Spirit Nursery. Strong, upright stems carry broad white bottlebrush flowers in June, rising well above the divided green foliage. The scale and timing give the plant a commanding presence in woodland plantings, offering height and brightness before the later bugbanes come into season. Best in humus rich, consistently moist soil with some protection from afternoon sun.
Pot size
$10.00
Out of stock
Growing Conditions

Light: part shade to full shade

Moisture: average to moist

Soil: moist, humus rich, well drained

Hardiness zone: 4

Maintenance: medium
Size & Habit

Height (cm): 200

Spread (cm): 100

Habit: tall upright clump
Seasonal Interest

Flowering period: June–July

Seasonal interest: late summer to autumn bloom; vertical structure; winter seed heads

Foliage: green

Flower: white
Ecology & Notes

Wildlife value: generalist pollinator value

Deer/Rabbit resistance: yes

Habitat: woodland gardens; shaded borders; naturalized plantings

Features: early flowering; tall architectural stems; reliable woodland structure; wild provenance selection

Notes: flowers earlier than Asian bugbanes; provenance selection with strong garden presence

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