PlantFiles: Goat's Beard
Aruncus dioicus

bought two this year (2010) and they have done well by my back fence that gets shade most of the day. The "bugs" are feasting on the leaves and the deer have left them alone.

This is one plant whose blooms I really look forward to each year. It's lovely white delicate blooms really brighten up the darkest spot in my shady bed. It seems to tolerate dry spells very well. This plant prospers in an area where it is tough to grow much of anything else.

Also known as Aruncus asiaticus, Aruncus barba-caprae, Aruncus capribarba, Aruncus silvester, Aruncus silvestris, Aruncus sylvester, Aruncus sylvestris, Aruncus vulgaris

I grew 2 aruncus in full sun.They were not happy. Moved to a dappled shade area under a climbing rose & trumpet vines(lots of root competition) They did great. Did not require extra water. Showy flowers in early summer foilage stays fresh & green through season. If you have large bare spots in semi shaded area these plants work really well. Also they don't mind being moved

Cherokee Indians;polticed root for bee stings
Tea used to bath swollen feet

Goat's Beard grows all over South-central Alaska, along roadsides and woodland openings. It prefers moist areas, but seems to grow on raised embankments, as well. This plant is well-suited to the edge of a yard that is partially shaded, and has the advantage of growing quite tall in the summer, then dying back to the ground in the winter.

Goat's Beard self-seeds here, but is not always easy to germinate in cultivation. Cold/moist stratification, as it would receive in the wild, may be necessary. However, Goat's Beard transplants quite well and adapts well to cultivation.

Goat's Beard can be stunning in its late Spring and early Summer bloom, resembling a cream-colored large Astilbe.

Grows in Heat Zones 10-1.

There are only three species in this genus. Aruncus dioicus is also known as Aruncus sylvestris. Best cultivated in moist, rich soil, part sun/part shade. Good for around ponds or streams but happy in any moist soil. Grows to 6' tall and 4' wide. Gets flower 'spikes' that resemble Astilbe flowers but larger, they are usually cream color. Blooms in summer. Clump forming woodland plant. Propagate by division or seed. Hardy zones 3-9

Goatsbeard has 6-10" plumes of very small cream colored flowers. After flowers fade, the tall mounds of compound leaves provide a great background for later blooming plants. Native to deciduous woodlands of eastern and central US and also western Europe. Dwarf varieties are often mistaken for astilbe. The leaves are pinnately compound, bearing 20 or more 1" to 2 1/2" dark green doubly toothed oval leaflets.
Provide generous amounts of organic matter. These will withstand full sun in cool climates, if given steady moisture. They should be planted 4' from all other plants and 4-5' apart from each other.
'Kneiffii' grows about 3' high and has finely divided foliage.