Zone: 3 to 9

Soil: sand to loam

Light: Sun to part sun

Bloom colour: Yellow to purple

Bloom period: Late spring

Height: 24 inches

Moisture: Dry to medium

Attracts: Bumblebees and ants

Notes: Prairie alumroot does not have stunning flowers although they are quite prominent; however, it does have great foliage that stays in good condition throughout the summer and indeed, most of the year. For this reason, it can work very well as a plant at the front of the border. The flowerheads do grow on quite long stalks, but once they die back, you are left with a plant under 1 foot tall.

The plant comes into flower in late spring and will attract sweat bees and cellophane bees. The flower colour is not consistent. Some are yellow while other flowers are purple. The flowers will remain in bloom for several weeks.

This plant is very similar to Common Alumroot which is also an Ontario native. Hairy alumroot which grows across most of Eastern United States would be another species to consider