Common Name: foam flower
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Saxifragaceae
Zone: 4 to 9
Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: May
Bloom Description: Light pink
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Leaf: Colorful, Good Fall
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in part shade to full shade. Prefers humusy, organically rich, moisture-retentive soils. Soil should not be allowed to dry out. Avoid wet soils which can be fatal particularly in winter. Removal of flower spikes after bloom will improve the appearance of the foliage mound. Foliage is semi-evergreen in the St. Louis area where the amount of retained foliage color in winter, if any, is in large part dependent upon the severity of the temperatures.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Tiarella is a genus of about 7 species of herbaceous perennials from East Asia and North America. They make good ground covers in woodland gardens and shady borders.
Plants are in the same family as and somewhat suggestive of Heuchera, Tellima and Mitella. Tiarella is sometimes commonly called false miterwort because of its similarity to Mitella (miterwort).
Genus name comes from the Greek tiara meaning a small crown in reference to the form of the fruit.
‘Crow Feather’ is a rhizomatous, clump-forming foamflower hybrid that is primarily noted for its attractive variegated foliage that, in mild winter climates, develops bright and showy colors in fall and winter. Palmate, deeply cut basal leaves emerge in spring in mounds rising to 8-10” tall. Each leaf is bright green with prominent black feathering along the mid-rib and center veins. Leaves develop an interesting combination of pink, red, purple and black colors in fall, with the fall coloration continuing throughout winter in mild winter locations from USDA Zone 7 southward. This foamflower results from a cross between Tiarella ‘Pinwheel’ (seed parent) and an unnamed Tiarella (pollen parent). Light pink flowers with a slight fragrance appear in spring in racemes atop stems rising above the foliage to 12” tall. U.S. Plant Patent PP12,335 issued January 8, 2002.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for powdery mildew. Susceptible to root weevils and slugs.
Uses
Excellent selection for shaded areas of rock gardens, woodland gardens, border fronts, naturalized plantings or moist areas along streams or ponds. Mass for an attractive ground cover. Containers.