Yerba Mansa

Yerba Mansa brings bold foliage and unusual floral structure to consistently moist landscapes. Each bloom features a central cone packed with tiny flowers, surrounded by broad white bracts that create the look of a single dramatic blossom. As the flowers age, they may take on pink or reddish tones, extending the display above glossy, often red-tinged leaves.

Native to wetlands, springs, streambanks, and alkaline seeps of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, Yerba Mansa thrives where many drought-adapted natives cannot. It spreads by creeping rhizomes, gradually forming a dense colony that can help stabilize damp soil and cover open patches around ponds, rain gardens, bioswales, and low-lying areas. Its foliage and roots are strongly aromatic when crushed, adding another memorable layer to this distinctive regional native.

Why Choose Yerba Mansa?

• Unusual white-bracted flowers age to pink or reddish tones
• Glossy, red-tinged foliage adds bold texture
• Excellent for moist soils, pond edges, rain gardens, and bioswales
• Spreading rhizomes help stabilize damp or low-lying areas
• Well-suited to alkaline seeps and challenging wet sites
  

Plant Yerba Mansa where soil stays consistently moist, and give it room to spread into a colony. Thin or edge rhizomes as needed to keep it within bounds, especially in smaller rain gardens or pond-edge plantings.

• Plant Yerba Mansa in sun to partial shade where the soil remains moist or periodically saturated, and do not allow newly established plants to dry out.
• Its rhizomes can spread assertively, so remove wandering shoots or divide colonies when needed.
• Cut back dormant or weather-damaged foliage in late winter before fresh growth emerges.