Habitat: damp woodland
Soil: wit h plenty of humus
Height: 2 m
Flowering: mid to late summer
Width: 1.0 m
There are tall astilbes for herbaceous borders and small ones of rock garden stature, but all prefer cool and damp conditions. They are clump-forming perennials with branched spikes bearing a multitude of tiny flowers, usually pink or white, sometimes red, closely packed together into a fuzzy mass. The multiply divided leaves are also attractive, opening with bronze colouring, and the dried flowers stems can stand through the winter, adding structure for many extra months.
Astilbe rivularis CC5201 is a species is usually described as having white flowers, so the description of this collection as yellow-green may just reflect their incomplete openness at the time of the observation. It is a typical Astilbe, with a great spire of tiny flowers, over sharply toothed leaves.|
| Astilbe x arendsii 'Brautschleier' is a variety with large upright panicles of pure white flowers, above divided glossy green leaves. | |
|
| Astilbe x arendsii 'Bressingham Beauty' has feathery plumes of rich pink flowers above bronze tinted and mid green fern-like foliage. Easy to grow, this brings good colour to a shady area. | |
|
| Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal' has dense, feathery plumes of deep red flowers, which are long lasting. The dried flowerheads fade but remain, providing winter interest. Attractive toothed leaflets. | |
|
| Astilbe chinensis var. pumila is a dwarf form of this fine species, with pink flowers, tightly packed along the upright flower stem and its many short side branches, contrasting with the dark foliage. | |
|
| Astilbe 'Deutschland' is an Astilbe japonica hybrid with fresh, bright green foliage and feathery panicles of white flowers. It is widely regarded as being the best of the white-flowered varieties. | |
|
| Astilbe 'Rheinland' is a lovely variety, with dense inflorescences of clear pink, widely fluffed out, reminiscent of candy floss, and a similar sugar pink, or perhaps a sahe darker. The deeply incised foliage is rich green or bronze. | |
|
| Astilbe 'Willie Buchanan' is one of the smaller varieties, a great plant for a cool place, with dense tufts of finely divided, bronze foliage, and spires of densely packed, very pale pink, tiny flowers. |