Prosartes hookeri

Common Names

Drops of Gold, Fairy-Bells, Hooker Fairy-Bell, Hooker's Fairy-Bells, Oregon Fairybells

Summary

Hooker’s fairy bells, Prosartes hookeri, is a rhizomatous perennial herb native to western North America, from British Columbia and Alberta to California and Montana, with a disjunct population in Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains. It grows as an upright, sparsely branched plant about 30–100 cm tall, with leaves 3–9 cm long that are ovate to lanceolate. Pendulous bell-shaped flowers, creamy white to greenish white with six spreading tepals and six longer stamens, appear in small groups at branch tips, followed by bright red berries about 7–12 mm long containing 4–6 seeds.

It favors moist, shaded forests and thickets at elevations around 100–2000 m, and can tolerate full sun if moisture is adequate. Propagation is primarily by division of rhizomes, with seed propagation possible but details limited, and plants can be grown in loamy, organic-rich soil; in cultivation it can form a small thicket over time. As an ornamental for shaded woodland plantings, flowers attract pollinators and fruits provide wildlife food, and the plant spreads slowly via rhizomes, enhancing naturalistic understory displays.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

12-39 inches

Spread

12-30 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones 7b-8b

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally Partial Shade; tolerates Full Sun if kept adequately moist.

Soil Type

Moist, loamy soil rich in organic matter with a duff layer; well-drained yet consistently moist.

Soil Drainage

Moist, well-drained loamy soil that remains consistently moist but not waterlogged.

Soil pH

6.5-6.5

Bloom Color

Creamy white to greenish white

Bloom Time

Spring to Summer

Foliage Color

Glossy green

Fall Foliage Color

Gold

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Fast

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Division (via rhizomes), Root cuttings

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bees, Attracts hummingbirds, Attracts other pollinators