Ornamental · Rosaceae
Great Burnet
Sanguisorba officinalis
Tall wands of dark red bottlebrush flowers that sway over the back of a damp, sunny border all summer long.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 4–8
2–3 ft · 0.8–0.9 m
Overview
Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) is one of those perennials that earns its keep without asking much from you. It sends up tall, airy stems topped with dark red bottlebrush flowers that nod over the back of a border, and it does its best work in a spot that stays damp and sunny.
Part of the rose family, it's a clump-forming plant that comes back year after year and grows at a comfortable, moderate pace. The flowers open in late spring and, depending on the form, can keep going well into summer, so there's plenty of color to enjoy.
Why do gardeners love it? It's genuinely low fuss. Give it steady moisture, full sun, and a bit of room, and it pretty much looks after itself. The main things to keep an eye on are floppy tall stems and the seedlings it likes to scatter around.
Care
The short version: plant it in full sun, keep the soil consistently moist, and skip the heavy feeding. Stake the tall stems early so they don't flop, deadhead if you'd rather not have volunteer seedlings everywhere, and cut the whole thing back in late fall or early spring. It's a tough, cold-hardy perennial that mostly takes care of itself.
Light
Give great burnet full sun and you'll get the sturdiest stems and the best show of flowers. It'll put up with partial shade if it has to, but pile on too much shade and the growth turns weak, leggy, and prone to leaning over.
Water
This is a plant that likes a drink. Keep the soil consistently moist and don't let the root zone dry out, especially through summer heat. It's perfectly happy in damp ground and tolerates moist sites, so just check the soil every few days and water before it dries, easing off when rain does the work for you.
Soil
Average, medium-moisture, well-drained soil is all it asks for, and there's no need to fuss over the pH. If your ground is on the poor side, work in some compost to help it along. Just don't make it too rich, or you'll end up with soft, floppy stems.
Temperature
This is a tough, cold-hardy perennial built for zones 4 through 8. It shrugs off winters down to around -29°F (-34°C) and handles summers up to roughly 86°F (30°C), so no special winter protection is needed.
Humidity
Don't worry about chasing a humidity number here; ordinary outdoor air suits it just fine. What really matters is steady soil moisture, since dry roots show up as browning leaf edges long before the air ever becomes an issue.
Feeding
Keep feeding light. A single springtime feed with a balanced general-purpose fertilizer, or just a topdressing of compost, is plenty on average soil. Pour on more than that and you'll trade flowers for weak, leggy growth.
Pruning
Snip back the spent flower stems to keep self-seeding in check, then cut the whole plant down to the ground in late fall or early spring. For the taller stems, get your stakes in early so they don't sprawl after a heavy rain or a windy day.
Repotting
As a garden perennial, this one rarely needs lifting and actually does best left in place to build up a clump. Only step in to divide it when crowding starts thinning the flowering or the center of the clump begins to die out.
Size & spacing
Plan for a clump that reaches 2.5 to 3 feet (76 to 91 cm) tall with a spread of 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 cm). Give each plant that much room so those airy stems have space to do their thing.
When to plant
Want to get the timing right? Start seed indoors in late winter to early spring, then move plants outside once the last frost has passed. The dark red flower spikes open in May and roll into early summer, with some forms carrying on a good bit later.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Late winter to early spring
- Plant: Spring after last frost
- Harvest: May to June (into late summer for some forms)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Here's the reassuring part: great burnet stays clear of serious pests and disease. The few hiccups that do come up usually trace back to where it's planted and how it's watered, so catching the early signs and applying a quick fix keeps the planting looking sharp.
Crispy brown edges creeping in on the leaves
When leaf tips and edges start going brown, dry soil is almost always behind it. This one shows up most in hot, dry stretches when the root zone has had a chance to dry out, and the plant tends to bounce back once you give it steady moisture again.
Fix:
- Water to keep soil evenly moist
- Apply mulch to conserve soil moisture
When those tall stems lean and sprawl
Got stems that won't stand up straight? On a plant this tall, the flowering wands can get top-heavy and tip over, and the same thing happens when soil is too rich or there's too much shade pushing weak, stretchy growth. The good news is that a little support and a sunny spot usually sorts it out.
Fix:
- Install stakes or grow-through supports early in the season
- Site in full sun for sturdier stems
Baby plants showing up where you didn't put them
Notice little newcomers crowding in around the parent clump? That's just self-seeding at work, since the spent flower heads drop seed pretty freely once they're done blooming. Catch them early and it's an easy fix, no harm done to the main plant.
Fix:
- Deadhead spent flowers before seed sets
- Remove volunteer seedlings by hand
Toxicity
Wondering if it's safe around pets and kids? It is. Great burnet belongs to the culinary burnets, and its close cousin salad burnet has been cleared as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. So a stray nibble here is really nothing to lose sleep over.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
No trouble expected if a curious cat takes a taste, since nothing toxic has been flagged for this plant.
Dogs None
A nibbling dog should be just fine here; there's no reported toxicity to worry about.
Horses None
Horses can be around it without concern, as the close relative is cleared as non-toxic.
Rabbits Safe
Nothing in this plant is known to bother rabbits.
Livestock Safe
Safe to have near grazing livestock, with no toxicity on record.
Birds Safe
Birds pose no problem and face no problem around it either.
People Safe
Folks have nothing to fear from this one; it's part of the edible burnet family.
No special handling precautions are required; the plant is not reported to be toxic.
Varieties
If the straight species isn't quite your shape, a couple of named selections give you those same dark flowers in either a tidier or a taller package. Both are worth tracking down.
Tanna
Looking for the same look in a smaller footprint? Tanna is a compact pick at around 12 inches (30 cm), topped with deep maroon-red bottlebrush heads riding upright stems.
Red Thunder
Red Thunder goes the other direction, taller and strongly branching, carrying deep burgundy-red flowers that open in midsummer and carry on into late summer.
How to propagate
Want more of it? That's the easy part. You can split an established clump or simply let the plant sow itself around the garden.
DivisionEasy
Spring or early fall · One growing season
Division is the simple route. Lift the whole crown of an established clump in spring or early fall, slice it into sections that each keep some healthy roots, then tuck them back into prepared, moisture-holding soil. Each piece settles in over one growing season.
SeedEasy
Spring · One to two seasons to flowering size
Since it self-seeds so readily, growing from seed is no struggle at all. Sow collected or bought seed in spring in average soil and it comes up without much fuss. Just know the young plants need one to two seasons before they reach flowering size.
Myths
Great burnet and the salad burnet you cook with are one and the same plant.
Not quite. They share a genus and a common name, but they're different plants. Great burnet is the taller ornamental perennial you grow for those dark red flower spikes, while salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is the smaller, cucumber-flavored herb for the kitchen. Want the flavor? Check the species name before you plant.