Marsh Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium aquaticum
Steel-blue flower globes over spiny, blue-green foliage in midsummer. A genuinely unusual pick for wet and rain gardens, sculptural into winter.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Architectural steel-blue globe flowers for wet soil -- a genuinely unusual native that stops everyone who sees it.
Marsh rattlesnake master is one of the most visually arresting natives for wet conditions. It produces an upright branched structure with stiff, spiny, bluish-green foliage and globe-shaped blue flower heads in midsummer that look like they belong in a coastal garden on another continent. The flowers glow a cool steel-blue and attract a dense rotation of short-tongued pollinators who appreciate the open, accessible head structure. A plant for collectors and plant lovers who want something genuinely unusual and ecologically important in a wet or rain garden setting. The seed heads hold their structural interest through fall and winter, adding a sculptural element that most perennials can't offer. Quite different from prairie rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) in both looks and habitat preference.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown marsh rattlesnake master propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Moist
- Mature size
- 2–4 ft · 12–18 in wide
- Bloom time
- July–August
- Bloom color
- Blue
- USDA zones
- 6–9
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Native range
- Eastern United States from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Texas, in coastal plain bogs, wet savannas, and moist meadows
Care notes for marsh rattlesnake master.
Full to part sun in moist to wet, acidic soil. Natural habitat includes bogs, wet prairies, and coastal plain seepage slopes. Tolerates periodic standing water. Allow to self-seed in suitable wet conditions. Handle the spiny foliage with care.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside marsh rattlesnake master.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.