Geum canadense

Common Names

White Avens, Wood Avens

Summary

Geum canadense, commonly known as White Avens, is a native North American perennial herb in the Rosaceae family that forms a low basal rosette and erect stems reaching about 0.5-0.8 m tall, with alternate leaves and white five-petaled flowers in spring to summer, distinctive features include the white blossoms and seeds that develop into achenes with hooked styles, enabling attachment to fur, clothing, or other surfaces, and a woodland-groundcover habit typical of habitats such as woodlands, forest edges, thickets, and open woodlands, thriving in light shade to partial sun, Geum canadense tolerates a range of soils from loam to clay-loam with moist to moderately dry conditions and can spread aggressively, making it suitable as a native woodland ground cover in gardens or restoration plantings, mowing can help manage spread, while allowing seed self-sowing sustains coverage, propagation is by seed sown in spring or autumn in a cold frame or by division in spring or autumn, larger clumps replanted, divisions repeated every few years, and pollinators such as bees, wasps, flies, and beetles are attracted, the plant is hardy to at least -15°C and can tolerate juglone from black walnut trees.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

2-2.5 feet

Spread

12 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones 3-7

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally Partial Sun or Partial Shade.

Soil Type

No single ideal soil; tolerates sandy, loam, clay, and calcareous soils in both moist and dry conditions, with well-drained loamy soil commonly suitable.

Soil Drainage

Well-drained

Soil pH

6.0-7.0, Slightly acidic to neutral soils, Tolerates a wide pH range

Bloom Color

White

Bloom Time

Spring and Summer (blooming May–July)

Foliage Color

Green, sometimes a purplish hue, and pale or frosted toward the center of the leaf.

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Fast

Seasons of Interest

Spring and Summer

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Division

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bees, Attracts other pollinators