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Desmodium canadense

Growing Information

Plant Type: Perennial
Sunlight: Sun
Soils: Dry to moist.
Bloom Time: Pink flowers from June to September
Size: 2-3 feet in height, 1-2 foot spread

As the name implies, this plant offers showy pink flowers from mid-summer to fall, making this plant a great addition to a sunny spot. Extremely tolerant of poor, sandy soils, this plant is happy to spread itself around and looks great in a cluster. This is a Barnstable County native.

Garden Companions

Grass-leaved Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia), Appalachian Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum flexuosum)

Nature Benefits

  • Host plant for the Eastern Tailed Blue, Silver-spotted Skipper, Southern Cloudywing, Northern Cloudywing, and Hoary Edge butterflies as well as the Pink-washed Aristotelia, Tobacco Budworm, Batman, and Tick-Trefoil Caloptilia moths.
  • Flowers provide nectar to a variety of pollinators, with special value to bumble bees.

Natural Habitat

Meadows and fields, shores of streams or ponds.

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