simple-stemmed bugbane
Actaea simplex
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones4 to 8
SunHandles partial sun to full shade
WaterHandles moderate to moist soil
Size3 to 4 feet tall2 to 3 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Bloom season
- Summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- White
- Foliage color
- Green
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Simple-stemmed bugbane (Actaea simplex) is a perennial for shade gardens, woodland plantings, borders, and cottage gardens. It is hardy to USDA zone 4, or down to -30°F (-34°C). This plant likes part sun to full shade and average to moist soil. It grows 36 to 48 inches tall and bears fragrant white flowers that attract bees. Deer and rabbits rarely make it their first choice. Bloom time runs from early to late summer and again in early to late autumn.
Pairs well with Wood lily, Bellwort, and Western sword fern.
Native range
Central Asia, Asia, Amur, Chita, and 7 more places. See all 11
Central Asia, Asia, Amur, Chita, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Kuril Is., Manchuria, Primorye, Sakhalin, and Yakutiya.