North Shore Plant Club
White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)
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| Deciduous Perennial in the Asteraceae Family | |
A native fall-blooming woodland wildflower with clouds of tiny white flowers — historically infamous as the cause of deadly milk sickness, including the death of Abraham Lincolns mother. |
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| White Snakeroot is a native perennial wildflower of eastern and midwestern woodlands, blooming from September until frost with abundant clusters of small, fuzzy white flowers held above deep green, opposite leaves. It tolerates both full sun and shade given adequate moisture, and spreads readily by seed and rhizome in favorable conditions. The plant contains the toxin tremetol and is historically significant as the cause of milk sickness in livestock and, through contaminated milk, in people — a disease believed to have killed Abraham Lincolns mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in 1818. | |
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| Why Like | One of the last native wildflowers to bloom each year, providing an important late-season nectar source for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators after most other flowers have finished. Its historical link to milk sickness, including its role in the death of Abraham Lincolns mother, also makes it a genuinely notable piece of American natural history. |
Plant Data | |
| Mature Size | 24 - 60 inches tall. 24 - 48 inches wide. |
| Sun Exposure | Full Shade - Full Sun |
| Moisture Tolerance | Dry - Wet |
| Zones | 3a - 8b (Usually hardy to -40° F) |
| Tags | Attracts Bees, Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Pollinators, Attracts Wildlife, Deciduous, Deer Resistant, Disease Resistant, Dry, For a Shady Spot, Full Shade, Full Sun, Good for Borders, Illinois Native, Low Maintenance, Medium, Native to North America, Naturalizing, Partial Shade, Partial Sun, Perennial, Potentially Toxic, Rabbit Resistant, Shade Tolerant, Tolerant of Moist Soil, Wet, Woodland Garden |
| Bloom Period | September to Frost |
| Flower Color | White |
More Info from Experts |
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Pricing and Availability HistoryClick a label to toggle visibility for that size
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Past Availability2025 : 05/04 - 10/042024 : 05/01 - 05/18 2023 : 05/04 - 09/10 |
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We try very hard to source exactly what you’d like, but sometimes growers run out of plants! While this variety is a great deal at the price shown, we know that it has limited availability. If you want the plant even if it might be more expensive, or in a different size or quantity -- after you place your order, just send us a quick note at help@northshoreplantclub.com. Then, we’ll try to get you some version of this from one of our growers. And if we can’t get it from anywhere, of course, we’ll send a refund!
Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.
Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.
The cost of this recipe's ingredients will vary depending on the season and the sizes and varieties you select.
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Membership is free, but — since we rely on delivery and local pick-up — you have to live near one of our hubs (or be willing to drive to a site to pick them up). If you live farther away, and would like to help us bring the club to your neighbors, please email helpusgrow@northshoreplantclub.com.
To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.
Shoot us an email at help@northshoreplantclub.com, and we'll be happy to talk about plants or let you know when it's time to buy them!
We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.
Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!