Bugbane (Rattletop, Snakeroot)
Cimicifuga species. RANUNCULACEAE.
Planting and Growing Bubane
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow bugbane in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of bugbane
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for bugbane
- Season of bloom and planting time for bugbane
- When, how deep, and where to plant bugbane
- How to plant bugbane
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of bugbane
- Landscape and container uses of bugbane
- Comments about bugbane and its features
Growing Bubane
About 15 species of narrow, upright, deciduous perennial herbs, 30–96 in. (75–240 cm) tall, 2 ft. (60 cm) wide. Shiny, deep green, coarsely fernlike, deeply toothed, veined leaves, to 10 in. (25 cm) long, divided into leaflets 1–3 in. (25–75 mm) long.
Commonly cultivated species include black cohosh, Cimicifuga americana; Dahurian bugbane, Cimicifuga dahurica; Japanese bugbane, Cimicifuga japonica; and black bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many cream, white, small, bristly, horned, fragrant flowers, in slender, wandlike spikes, to 4 ft. (1.2 m) tall, in summer–early autumn.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 3–9.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained humus. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–6.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Early spring in filtered sun to partial shade, 2 ft. (60 cm) apart, when soil is workable and after frost hazard has passed.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist. Fertilize monthly. Pinch to promote bushiness. Propagate by division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for backgrounds, beds, borders in cottage, woodland gardens. Pest and disease resistant.