Blue Cohosh is a choice woodland wildflower treasured for its lacy blue-green foliage and deep blue berries. This beautiful shade garden plant prefers a soil with abundant organic matter from decaying leaves and consistent moisture. A cluster of yellow flowers …
Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is a choice woodland native, treasured for its lacy blue-green foliage and deep blue berries. This beautiful shade garden plant prefers a soil with abundant organic matter from decaying leaves and consistent moisture. In spring, a cluster of yellow flowers appear at the branching "Y" of the stem. The flowers are intricate and interesting, but small and somewhat inconspicuous. The berries that follow, however, are very showy. Starting out green, the berry clusters turn blue as they mature later in the summer. In fall the berries persist as the plant foliage turns bright green-gold. Combine this shade-loving species with lower growing wildflowers and sedges. Once established at a favorable site Blue Cohosh is a long-lived plant. It is colony forming, but the spread is slow and easily controlled.
Blue Cohosh berries are toxic for humans, and should not be eaten. They persist into late winter and are only consumed by wildlife after they’ve been through a couple of freeze thaw cycles.
Native plants can be grown outside of their native range in the appropriate growing conditions. This map shows the native range, as well as the introduced range, of this species.
Plant Shipping Rates: for plant orders up to $50 the shipping amount is $9.95. For plant orders from $50.01 and over, the shipping rate is 20% of the total plant cost.
Spring plant-shipping begins on April 1, 2024. May 17 is the last day to order plants for spring shipping.
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Does it spread by its roots? If so, how fast. Is it aggressive?
Blue Cohosh is not an agressive spreader. In ideal conditions (rich moist soil in a shady location) it spreads very slowly by rhizome. You are not likely to experience any problems at all with it "taking over."
Is Blue Cohosh deer resistant?
Blue Cohosh is Not known to be deer resistant.
To find a list of deer resistant plants, use the "Benefits" filter and select Deer Resistant as a filtering option.
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