Tall Meadow-Rue
Thalictrum pubescens
Airy white flower clouds on stems reaching six to eight feet in midsummer. Maidenhair-like foliage stays attractive all season; deer ignore it.
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
Airy white flower clouds on 6–8 foot stems with fern-like foliage. it adds height and movement to the shade garden that almost nothing else achieves.
Tall meadow-rue brings a quality to the native garden that few plants can match: airy, cloud-like white flower plumes on stems that can reach 6–8 feet tall in midsummer. The flowers themselves are just masses of white stamens without petals, almost like botanical fireworks in slow motion, and they sway and catch light in a way that's visually stunning in a back border or beside water. The compound blue-green foliage resembles a giant maidenhair fern and stays attractive all season. It grows naturally in moist meadows, stream banks, and woodland edges across the Northeast, where it forms upright colonies that add height and movement to any planting. Essentially pest-free and ignored by deer.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown tall meadow-rue 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
- Part shade
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 4–8 ft · 24–36 in wide
- Bloom time
- Midsummer
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America
Care notes for tall meadow-rue.
Part shade to full shade in moist, humus-rich soil. Tolerates full sun with consistent moisture. May need staking in exposed locations at full height. Self-seeds in good conditions; thin seedlings if clumping becomes too dense. Cut back in fall. Divide every few years to maintain vigor.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside tall meadow-rue.
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’.