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smallfruit beggarticks

Bidens mitis · Asteraceae

smallfruit beggarticks (Bidens mitis)
Photo: (c) Lauren McLaurin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · via iNaturalist

smallfruit beggarticks (Bidens mitis) is a annual herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 12 and warmer, down to about 52°F.

At a glance

Typeforb-herb USDA
Lifecycleannual USDA
Native statusnative USDA
Mature height3.5 ft USDA
Lightpart-shade USDA
Water needhigh USDA
Growth raterapid USDA
Soil pH5–8.6 USDA
BloomSeptember–November USDA
Flower colorYellow USDA
Hardiness zones12 and warmer USDA
Guild layerherb-layer Derived
Nursery availabilityNo Known Source USDA

USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.

Growing conditions

It grows in partial shade. USDA rates it as having needs consistently moist ground. Its drought tolerance is rated low. It handles periodically wet ground (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance medium). It is recorded on soils from pH 5 to 8.6 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 12.

Size and growth

At maturity it reaches about 3.5 ft, making it roughly waist to chest height. It grows quickly.

Bloom period

USDA records a bloom period of September through November. Flowers are yellow.

A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.

Foliage, flower and season

Summer foliage is green, coarse in texture. Its flowers are conspicuous. It carries conspicuous autumn colour. Its active growth period is spring, summer, fall.

What the site needs to provide

USDA records it across sites receiving 32 to 55 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 160 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 8 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.

Propagating it

Seed is the only propagation method USDA lists. Division and cuttings are not listed as options. USDA records no cold-stratification requirement, so seed should germinate without a chilling period. Its seed spreads at a rapid rate. It does not spread vegetatively, so it will stay where you put it.

Resilience and wildlife

Browsing animals rate it barely palatable — the sourced basis for calling it deer-resistant. Its fire tolerance is rated low. Its growth form is recorded as single crown.

Role in a guild

Herb layer. In a layered planting this is the herbaceous middle — perennials and grasses that fill the space between ground cover and shrubs. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.

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Tags

deciduouswet-tolerantclay-tolerantdeer-resistantnativefast-growing

Related plants

Others in Bidens

Similar role and hardiness

Where this data comes from

Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol BIMI, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.

Read our full data sources and methodology.

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