Description of Lysimachia thyrsiflora (Tufted Loosestrife)

Lysimachia thyrsiflora is tufted loosestrife, a wetland plant with yellow flower clusters that sit along upright stems. It’s a good summer bloomer for pond margins and saturated bog soil.

Appearance

It forms clumps of narrow leaves on upright stems, then produces fuzzy-looking yellow flower clusters from the leaf joints. It usually reaches 50 to 90cm. Flowering is often late spring to early summer.

Care Guide

It likes wet soil and it copes well near shallow water. In drier spots it gets shorter and flowers less.

• Sun: Sun to part shade.
• Soil: Wet, fertile soil or aquatic compost.
• Water: Boggy ground to shallow water.
• Cut back: Cut stems down after flowering for tidiness, or leave until late winter.
• Division: Divide in spring if clumps get crowded.

If you want more plants, lifting and splitting is easy, and small divisions establish well in wet ground.

Suitability for Bog Garden

This plant suits bog gardens where you want upright stems and a run of yellow early in the season. It works well behind low ground covers and beside irises.

It also looks natural planted in drifts around pond edges, especially with rushes and sedges to mix up the textures.

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