ligularia (Ligularia dentata), photographi

How to Grow Ligularia

Ligularia dentata · Zones 3-8

Ligularia is a perennial grown for its orange blooms, which open in summer and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 8, shrugs off deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies.

Ligularia — the short answer

Ligularia: grown in zones 3–8, shade, pH 6–7.

USDA zones
3–8
Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
Soil pH
6–7
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Shade
Growable Ground Plant Database

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.

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What Ligularia is

Ligularia grows as a perennial and reaches around three feet at maturity. It blooms orange in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.

How to grow Ligularia

Ligularia grows in USDA zones 3 through 8. Ligularia does best in shade — at least 2 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 6 to 7, on consistently moist ground.

USDA Zones

3-8

USDA PHZM 2023

Soil pH

6 - 7

Growable Ground Plant Database

Sun

Shade

Growable Ground plant catalog

Drainage

poorly (saturated >50% of year)

Growable Ground plant catalog

Mature Height

3 ft

Growable Ground plant catalog

  1. Start the season right

    Plant ligularia in shade with at least 2 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.

  2. Match the soil

    Ligularia prefers pH 6 to 7 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.

  3. Water steadily

    Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. Match watering to the plant's drainage preference and your local rainfall.

  4. Harvest at its peak

    Cut ligularia blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.

Where Ligularia thrives

Ligularia is hardy across USDA zones 3 through 8. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.

A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 38 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 20°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 34 outright and splits 17 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.

Zones 3–8 highlighted on the USDA national hardiness zone map

Zones 3–8·Where Ligularia growsOpen map →

This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Where Ligularia stands, state by state

Ligularia is rated for zones 38 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 34 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 17 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.

Fully inside zones 3–8

34 states

3 of 34 shown

The line runs through

17 states

3 of 17 shown

Ligularia’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.

State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.

What grows around Ligularia

In rotation planning, ligularia counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)

Good to know

Good news for pet owners — ligularia isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)

Ligularia offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)

Your land is one point inside Ligularia's range

This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.

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See if Ligularia will thrive on your land

Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether ligularia actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.

Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:

Your soil pHYour frost-free daysYour sun & shade

We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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How we know this about Ligularia

The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.

Grounded inUSDA PLANTS DatabaseUSDA PHZMASPCA

Frequently asked questions

Can I grow Ligularia in my zone?

Ligularia grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.

When should you plant Ligularia?

Ligularia is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.

How much sun does Ligularia need?

Ligularia is shade-tolerant — it gets by on as little as 2 hours of direct sun, so it earns a place most vegetables can't use. A north-facing strip or the ground under a leafy canopy is right where it belongs. A Growable Ground report shows which corners of your land stay shaded through the day, turning those dim spots into planting spots.

What soil does Ligularia need?

Ligularia prefers soil pH 6 to 7, on consistently moist ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.

Does Ligularia attract pollinators?

Yes — ligularia's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)

Is Ligularia safe for pets?

Ligularia is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)