Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Flat white August flowers draw a constant rotation of monarchs, bees, and wasps. Four to five feet in moist soil, and bitter leaves keep deer away.
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
Essential for wet sites -- monarchs pile onto it in August and deer never touch the bitter foliage.
Boneset is one of August's essential native perennials for moist sites. The flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers carry above distinctive perfoliate leaves -- the stem appears to pierce through the leaf itself, a distinctive feature that identifies this plant immediately in the field. On warm August mornings, the flowers are covered with a constant rotation of monarch butterflies, native bees, and wasps working the open nectar supply. At four to five feet in moist soil, it has real presence in the back of a rain garden or at the margin of a wet meadow. The foliage is bold and coarse-textured, a visual contrast to finer-leaved companions. The strong bitterness of the leaves makes it completely unpalatable to deer. An ecologically essential, utterly reliable plant for wet conditions.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown boneset 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
- Average
- Mature size
- 3–5 ft · 18–30 in wide
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Native range
- Eastern and central North America from Quebec south to Florida and west to Nebraska and Texas, in moist to wet meadows and stream margins
Care notes for boneset.
Full to part sun in moist to wet soil. Tolerates periodic flooding and heavy clay. Cut back hard in early spring. Self-seeds in wet conditions. thin seedlings if needed to prevent overcrowding. Established clumps are long-lived and rarely need division.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside boneset.
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’.