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Pilosella aurantiaca

orange hawkweed

Asteraceae Europe

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies Deer Resistant Drought Tolerant Container Friendly

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterLow · drought-tolerant

HardinessZones 3–8

Overview

Pilosella aurantiaca is a stoloniferous perennial in the aster family, forming a flat basal rosette and sending up leafless, bristly flower stems 8-24 inches (20-60 cm) tall. The rosette leaves are lance-shaped, 2-5 inches (5-13 cm) long, untoothed, and densely covered in stiff blackish hairs. Each stem carries a tight cluster of 5 to 30 flower heads 0.5-0.8 inch (13-20 mm) across, made up entirely of orange to brick-red strap-shaped ray florets. The plant spreads quickly by above-ground runners, leafy stolons, and wind-borne seed, knitting into dense mats. It colonizes lawns, pastures, roadsides, and meadows on poor, acidic soil and is listed as a noxious weed in several U.S. states and Canadian provinces. The shallow root system and aggressive runners make it hard to contain once established. The foliage and stems exude a milky latex when broken.

Native Range

Native to the mountains of central and northern Europe, from the Alps and Carpathians to Scandinavia. It has naturalized across northern North America, New Zealand, and Australia, where it is widely treated as an invasive weed.

Suggested Uses

Occasionally grown in wildflower and gravel plantings for its orange flowers, spaced 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) apart, though its spread confines use to contained sites. In many regions planting is restricted because the species is classed as invasive. The flowers draw bees, hoverflies, and butterflies.

How to Identify

Identified by a ground-hugging rosette of hairy, untoothed leaves and a leafless, blackish-bristly stem topped with a cluster of orange to red dandelion-like heads. The orange-red ray color separates it from the many yellow-flowered hawkweeds. Leafy runners radiate across the soil surface from the base of each plant.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 2'

Width/Spread6" - 1'

Colors

Flower Colors

orange

red

Foliage Colors

green

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~12 weeks

Spring Summer

Flower heads open from late May through August, with a peak in June and July. Each cluster blooms over several weeks, the heads closing at night and in dull weather. Wind-borne seed with white pappus follows through summer.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

Orange to brick-red

Foliage Description

Dark green, hairy

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 5-10 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range4.5 - 7.0(Acidic)

357912

Soil Types

sand loam rocky

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

1-2 years to form colonies

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grows in full sun to part shade on poor, dry to moderately moist, acidic soil. It tolerates infertile, compacted, and gravelly ground where many plants fail and needs no feeding or irrigation once established. The stolons root as they spread, so a single plant builds a colony within a season or two. Plants are hardy to about -40F (-40C) in zones 3-8 and die back to the rosette in winter. Because runners and root fragments regenerate, cutting or shallow pulling rarely gives lasting control. Rich soil and regular moisture speed its spread.

Pruning

Removing flower stems before seed set limits spread by seed but does not stop the runners. Spent stems can be cut at the base after flowering. The basal rosettes persist through winter and need no cutting back.