Delightful 'Pussytoes' adds low-maintenance beauty to gardens

It is easy to see where Rosy Pussytoes (Antennaria rosea) gets its common name when you compare the flower heads to the pink pads of a kitten's paw. This delightful native groundcover blooms with many tiny, inconspicuous white tubular flowers surrounded by rose-colored bracts. In spring purple buds open into tight ball-like clusters of pink and white flowers sitting atop delicate stalks up to a foot above the basal foliage.

A herbaceous perennial, Rosy Pussytoes is native to North America, especially the western U.S. and most of Canada. It is comfortable in a variety of habitats, from wet to dry and high to low elevations. It is hardy, thrives in full sun and is drought tolerant.

A member of the Aster family, Rosy Pussytoes plants are dioicous (male and female flowers appear only on separate plants) and are predominately female. They spread by stolons which put down roots anchoring the stems to the ground creating colonies of genetically identical plants. Occasionally pollen from nearby male plants is carried into a colony and fertilization takes place resulting in seed, but the majority of reproduction for this plant is asexual. Seed heads, when present, burst out in an explosion of fluff at maturity.

Rosy Pussytoes forms mats of dense silver-green foliage covered with fine hairs. Basal leaves are spoon-shaped, widest near the tip, which can be pointed. Looking downward into a mound, the leaves appear like rosettes. Leaves along the flower stems are arranged alternately and are more linear. They vary in length from a half-inch to two inches. In a rock garden the plant is spectacular, with its gray-green foliage topped with colorful blooms cascading over rocks.

The flowers attract pollinators including bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. Rosy Pussytoes is a host plant for the American Lady butterfly larvae. If you notice the bristly, black caterpillars munching on a patch of Rosy Pussytoes in your garden, don't worry. They will feed for up to two weeks, then cocoon. Once they're gone your plants will recover nicely.

Native peoples placed the dry roots of Rosy Pussytoes on hot coals at social gatherings believing the smoke would drive away evil spirits. Chewing and swallowing the leaves was thought to increase male virility.

In the garden, Rosy Pussytoes is hardy, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant and low maintenance, needing only occasional pruning to remove die-back. It spreads at a moderate pace creating mounds about three inches high and benefits from dividing in the fall every two or three years. It loves full-sun and prefers well-drained soils, but isn't picky about soil quality. Rosy Pussytoes is an excellent native choice as a groundcover in alpine, rock, xeriscape and pollinator gardens and as a border or fill in among stepping stones on a sunny path.

Rosy Pussytoes grows in the subalpine habitat of the North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum, 611 S. Ella Ave., in Sandpoint. Pictures and a description are found in “Landscaping with Native Plants in the Idaho Panhandle,” a KNPS publication available at local bookstores and the Bonner County History Museum.

Native Plant Notes are created by the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society. To learn more about KNPS and the North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum, visit www.nativeplantsociety.org.