Allegheny Foamflower, False Mitrewort, Running Foam Flower

There are many accolades for this plant on the Internet, but my experience has been mixed growing in part shade. The spring bloom is beau...Read Moretiful, but the plant pretty much dies back to diminutive leaf rosettes at ground level by the end of May. The rosettes do stay alive--sort of--through the winter, but after May they just look progressively worse. Although advertised as a ground cover, it's not performing as such for me, although the issue may be that the plant wants a moister soil. (The location where this is planted is pretty much mesic most of the year, but can get a bit on the dryer side if it has not rained in a couple of weeks.)

Foamflower is one of the showiest of all spring-blooming wildflowers and an excellent shade garden plant. Blends beautifully with other n...Read Moreative species such as crested iris (Iris crostata), wild columbine, cranesbill, labrador violet and woodland phlox (Phlox divaracata).

Spreads by underground stems, forms colonies, and makes excellent groundcover for shady, wooded sites.

Michigan is at the western edge of the range of this species, which is native to woods from Nova Scotia to the eastern edge of Wisconsin and south through the Appalachians to Georgia and Mississippi.

The large white flower spikes are often accented with a tinge of pink, with handsome 'mapleleaf' foliage that stays attractive all summer, and turns a beautiful red in autumn. Tiarella cordifolia requires a rich soil. Hardy to Zones 4 - 7.

I bought the 'Oakleaf' cultivar from Garden in the Woods. It is supposed to be tough enough for New England weather. This cultivar is a...Read More clumping type with burgundy-bronze new growth, small green oak-shaped leaves z 4-9. I think I'll see if this is any tougher than the more commercial cultivars.

Once native...and "common" from ME to GA, west to the Mississippi River, and north to the Canadian border and beyond. This plant is now ...Read Moreendangered in 2 states, and yet delightfully easy to grow and multiply! Some of the T cordifolia individuals are running type plants and some clumping, many leaf shapes and color patterns. This plant has winter/ fall color change and takes on a darker or red hued look. Tiarella also feeds at least five families of pollinator bee type insects, and helps with water quality by taking up unwanted elements from surface water, and protecting against soil erosion. A number of plant breeders have produced excellent garden worthy forms, and the species is available in all it's diversity generated from seed. Heartleaf Foamflowers are great garden plants and good for ecology too!