Rattlesnake Master

The 2016 North Carolina Botanical Garden Wildflower of the Year, Eryngium yuccifolium (Zones 3–8), is a striking, architectural member of the southeastern tallgrass prairie. Its unique, sword-like silver foliage resembles a Yucca, making it an ideal choice for transitioning a native into a managed landscape. In mid-summer, it produces unique, globe-like white flower heads that provide a structural contrast to the softer forms of Monarda or Echinacea.

This species is recognized for its incredible ruggedness and unique aesthetic. Rattlesnake Master is a premier Specialist Bee Forage, attracting a massive diversity of beneficial insects, including the specialist Rattlesnake Master Borer Moth and various predatory wasps that provide natural pest control. 

Site Care & Performance

Rattlesnake Master is a fantastic, no-maintenance plant. It is exceptionally Drought Resistant once established, thanks to a deep, vigorous taproot that anchors it firmly in our local clay. It thrives in full sun and average to moist, well drained soils. 

Because of its deep taproot, it does not like to be moved once planted—site it carefully as a Soil Stabilizer or part of a Living Border.  We recommend leaving the stalks standing through winter and cutting them to the ground in early March to make way for new silver rosettes.