Sugar and Spice Foamflower

Light Needs

Full Shade to Partial Sun

(0 - 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

6-18 Inches

Mature Spread

6-18 Inches

Growing Zones

5 to 8

Sugar and Spice Foamflower (Tiarella) is tougher than its name implies. With soft white flowers (that’s the sugar) that rise in late spring on a spike above glossy green leaves with a burgundy center, its contrast is sure to bring a unique “flavor” to any garden. This versatile North American native grows well in zones 5 through 8 in full or partial shade. It grows to about a foot high and wide.

With its foamy flowers, two-toned, heart-shaped leaves and neat mounding habit, this perennial plant can shine nearly anywhere, attracting pollinators while it flowers. It’s perfect as a container thriller or filler, or as a mass planting of sugar and spice color. Its low height makes it an effective groundcover to suppress weeds in garden beds or under trees. Those are plenty of worthy attributes, but add to this that this is a deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, easy-care plant and you can’t go wrong with this foamflower.

Sugar and Spice Foamflower Care

Plant your foamflower where the sun hardly shines for its best performance, giving it up to only 4 hours of shade or less per day. Choose a rich soil with plenty of humus or a good container mix. The plants prefer average pH or slightly acidic soils.Cut flower spikes after the star-shaped blooms fade and remove dead or damaged leaves.

Since foamflower is native to moist woodland areas, the plants typically prefer consistent moisture. This one is more tolerant of drought, so don’t overwater. But give it some extra irrigation in the peak heat of summer. There is no need to fertilize Tiarella, but add a layer of organic mulch if needed to retain some moisture, cool the roots, and provide the natural nutrients provided by decomposing dropped leaves.

Sugar and Spice Foamflower Spacing

Plant your Sugar and Spice Foamflower about a foot from companion plants or structures. When planting a mass of these beauties, also space them nearly a foot apart.