Marsh Fleabane (Pluchea odorata var. odorata)

Marsh Fleabane

Pluchea odorata var. odorata

Other Common Names: Sweetscent, Saltmarsh Fleabane

Top Pick: A moisture-loving Texas native with clusters of soft pink-purple flowers that provide valuable nectar for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators from summer into fall.

Quick Plant Info

• ☀️ Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
• 💧 Water: Medium to High
• 🌿 Type: Perennial Wildflower
• 📏 Mature Size: Approximately 2–5 ft tall × 2–3 ft wide

Description

A late-season native wildflower for the wetter side of the landscape.

Marsh Fleabane produces branching stems topped with clusters of small pink to lavender-purple flower heads. The flowers create a soft, fluffy appearance and attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinating insects.

Naturally associated with marshes, wet meadows, pond and stream margins, ditches, and other areas with dependable moisture, Marsh Fleabane gives gardeners a native flowering option for locations that are too wet for many drought-adapted prairie species.

🌼 Why it works

• Soft pink-purple flowers
• Provides summer and fall nectar
• Attracts butterflies, bees, and other pollinators
• Excellent for rain gardens and moist landscapes
• Tolerates periodically wet soil
• Adds height and late-season color to naturalistic plantings
• Fills an important wet-site niche in a diverse native garden

🦋 Wildlife value

Marsh Fleabane provides nectar and pollen for butterflies, bees, and other insects. Its summer-to-fall flowering period makes it particularly useful in diverse pollinator gardens designed to provide floral resources throughout the growing season.

🌱 Where it thrives

Marsh Fleabane performs best in full sun to part shade with moderate to abundant moisture. It is especially useful in areas that remain moist or periodically become wet.

• Rain gardens
• Moist pollinator gardens
• Pond and water-garden margins
• Drainage areas
• Moist meadows
• Naturalistic landscapes

Soil: Adaptable to several soil types where adequate moisture is available. It can tolerate poorly drained and periodically saturated conditions better than many conventional garden perennials.

✂️ Growth & maintenance

Marsh Fleabane develops into an upright, branching perennial during the growing season. In favorable moist conditions, plants may reseed and establish additional plants nearby.

Leave some flowering stems standing after bloom to provide habitat structure and allow natural seed production, or cut plants back after flowering where a tidier appearance is preferred.

💧 Water (establishment note)

Keep adequately watered during establishment. Established plants perform best with consistent moisture and are particularly well suited to sites that periodically hold water.

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