Geum triflorum
Geum triflorum photo Missouri Botanical Garden
Prairie Smoke, Old Man's Whiskers, Red Avens

Geum triflorum has nodding, purple-red spring and summer blooms which mature to long, feather-like plumed seed heads above a mound of bright green fern-like foliage. The foliage deepens to deep red in fall. Native plant.

  • Height: 15-45 cm (6-18 in)
  • Spread: 15-30 cm (6-12 in)
  • Cold Hardiness: Zone 3-8
  • Sun or Shade: minimum 6 hours of direct sun
  • Bloom Time: lae spring
  • Leaf Colour: green
  • Bloom Colour: purple red
  • Critter Resistance: deer
  • Nature Attraction: bees and butterflies

Growing and Maintenance Tips

Prairie smoke is tolerant of many soil types, growing equally well in sandy, loamy, and clay soils, although it prefers a well-drained site, in full sun. Flowering is reduced in shade. It likes a soil rich in organic matter, but also does well in the leaner soil of the rock garden, where it tends to be smaller in stature. Although it does not need a lot of water, it is not completely drought tolerant either. It needs moist conditions in spring, tolerates drier conditions in summer, and does not like to be wet in winter. A southern or western exposure is best. (info courtesy of University of Wisconsin Horticulture)

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