Geum triflorum

Geum triflorum: Old Man's Whiskers for the Front Row

Prairie Smoke is the native that looks like it walked out of a fog machine. Dusky pink nodding bells, then feathery pink plumes that wave around like the encore at a rock show. WHO TURNED ON THE SMOKE?

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Geum triflorum
• Common Name: Prairie Smoke, also called Old Man's Whiskers or Purple Avens
• Height: 30–45 cm (12–18 in) in flower
• Spread: 20–30 cm (8–12 in), slowly widening by rhizomes
• Flowers: Nodding, dusky pink to reddish-purple, bell-like and mostly closed, followed by long, feathery pink seed plumes
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Finely divided, softly hairy leaves in a low clump

Where to Plant: Prairie smoke belongs at the front of the garden, where you can see the plumes catch the light, and it is at home in rock gardens, gravel beds, dry slopes, and prairie or meadow plantings. Planted in a group it makes a soft, low ground cover, and it suits a sunny strip with lean soil that dries out fast.

Companion Plants: Plant prairie smoke at the front of a sunny native bed with lean, well-drained soil. Rudbeckia hirta adds golden black-eyed Susans at 60 to 90 cm from June to September. Helenium autumnale brings golden sneezeweed at 90 to 150 cm from July to October. Symphyotrichum ericoides adds tiny white heath asters at 30 to 90 cm from August to October. Andropogon gerardii rises at the back to 120 to 200 cm, turning copper-bronze in fall.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun in sandy, gravelly or average soil with sharp drainage. Heavy clay that stays wet over winter is its main enemy, so add grit or plant on a slope if your soil is dense. Water through the first season, then only in long droughts. Don't cut it back after flowering. The seed plumes are the show. Tidy any tired leaves in spring. Clumps spread slowly. Divide in early spring or early fall if they get crowded or you want more.

History: Prairie smoke grows wild on dry prairies, open woods and alvars across central and northern North America, from the western prairies to the Great Lakes. The name triflorum means three-flowered, and its plumes earned it the nicknames prairie smoke and old man's whiskers.

Final Thoughts: Give it sun, lean soil and no fussing. It's drought tolerant once settled and deer resistant. THE LOW-MAINTENANCE ROCK STAR YOUR GARDEN DESERVES.