Wild Quinine
Parthenium integrifolium
Lacy flat-topped white blooms June through August on a clump that shrugs off clay, drought, and heat. Dried seed heads hold in arrangements.
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
Prairie-tough with lacy white midsummer flowers, bold textured foliage, and dried stems worth cutting.
Wild quinine is the tough, prairie-tested workhorse of the midsummer garden. It produces clusters of small, flat-topped white flowers that look almost lacy from a distance, not flashy, but genuinely beautiful in a refined, structural way. The blooms attract a wide range of short-tongued insects who appreciate the open, accessible flower form, and the dried seed heads cut and hold in arrangements through winter. The foliage is large, bold, and deeply textured, forming a substantial clump that handles clay, drought, and heat without complaint. It does not self-seed aggressively. Plant it where you want something that returns reliably, holds its form, and does its ecological work without any drama. Cut flowers are a bonus.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown wild quinine 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
- 2–4 ft · 18–24 in wide
- Bloom time
- June–August
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Native range
- Eastern and central United States from New England south to Georgia and west to Kansas and Nebraska
Care notes for wild quinine.
Full sun in average to dry soil. Tolerates clay and drought. actually performs better in lean soil than in rich, amended beds. Cut back hard in early spring. Division is rarely needed, as established clumps are long-lived and self-sustaining.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside wild quinine.
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