perennial
Prairie smoke
Geum triflorum
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Geum triflorum is a slow-growing semi-evergreen perennial for gardens in zones 3–7. It grows 0.5–1 ft tall and 0.75–1.5 ft wide, so plant it 1 ft apart. Give it full sun to part sun and little water once established. It flowers pink in April to June. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the edge role: a low plant that finishes the front edge. It is native to the Midwest, the Great Plains, the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Southeast, Florida and the Gulf, Texas and the South-Central states and the Desert Southwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Geum triflorum
- Plant type
- Perennial, semi evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 3 to 7
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); Part sun (4–6 hours)
- Water
- Low
- Soil
- Well-drained, lean soil; dislikes wet winters.
- Mature size
- 0.5–1 ft tall × 0.75–1.5 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Bloom
- Apr–Jun · pink
- Roles in a bed
- Edge
- Styles
- natural, cottage
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. No ASPCA entry found for Geum; marked toxic until a reviewer confirms.
- Native to
- Midwest, Great Plains, Mountain West and Pacific Northwest
- Pot size and price
- quart pot, typically $9–$15 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week for the first 6-8 weeks, then every 10-14 days in dry spells through the first summer; after that only in long droughts.
- Pruning
- Leave the feathery seed heads; no pruning needed.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; state extension service fact sheets; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings; state extension service; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States; state noxious weed and invasive plant lists; US garden-centre and home-improvement retail listings (general knowledge, 2026 estimate); USDA PLANTS database; state extension service native plant lists. Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Guides that include this plant
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Prairie smoke, across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Red twig dogwood 'Arctic Fire'Cornus sericea 'Farrow'shrub · zones 3–7
- Shrubby cinquefoil (potentilla) 'Goldfinger'Dasiphora fruticosa 'Goldfinger'shrub · zones 2–7
- Common yarrowAchillea millefoliumperennial · zones 3–9
- Weeping redbud 'Ruby Falls'Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls'small tree · zones 5–9
- Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation'Schizachyrium scoparium 'Standing Ovation'ornamental grass · zones 3–9
- New England aster 'Purple Dome'Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Purple Dome'perennial · zones 4–8
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Prairie smoke: same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
- Creeping phloxPhlox subulatazones 3–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Bearberry 'Massachusetts'Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'zones 3–7 · flagged toxic to pets
- Creeping Oregon grapeMahonia repenszones 4–8 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Pennsylvania sedgeCarex pensylvanicazones 3–8 · not flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants