Common Name: foam flower
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Saxifragaceae
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 4 to 9
Height: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: May
Bloom Description: White or pink
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Good Fall
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in part shade to full shade. Prefers humusy, organically rich, moisture-retentive soils. Soil should not be allowed to dry out. Wet soils, particularly in winter, can be fatal, however. Removal of flower spikes after bloom will improve the appearance of the foliage mound. Foliage is semi-evergreen in the St. Louis area where the amount of retained foliage color in winter, if any, is in large part dependent upon the severity of the temperatures.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Tiarella cordifolia, commonly called foamflower, is clump-forming perennial which spreads rapidly by runners (stolons) to form dense, 1-2' wide clumps of foliage. Plants are in the same family as and somewhat suggestive of Heuchera, Tellima and Mitella. Sometimes commonly called false miterwort because of its similarity to Mitella (miterwort). Semi-glossy, heart-shaped, 3-5 lobed leaves (4" across) rise directly from the stolons. Leaves may have reddish variegation along the veins. Foliage is evergreen in mild winters, often turning reddish bronze in autumn and winter. Tiny, white flowers with very long stamens (foamy texture of stamens results in the common name) appear in airy racemes in spring for about 6 weeks on numerous, erect, wiry, mostly leafless flower stems which rise well above the foliage clump to a height of 10-12". Flower buds are pinkish.
Genus name comes from the Greek tiara meaning a small crown in reference to the form of the fruit.
Specific epithet means heart-shaped leaf.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Shaded rock gardens, woodland gardens, border fronts, wild gardens, naturalistic plantings or moist areas along stream banks. Can be massed to form an attractive ground cover.