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, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 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.
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