Re: [SG] MORE on Astilbe plantings

Well, I guess it's OK for me to jump in here.  As far as I
know, I have nearly every Astilbe available; there are still a
bunch I've been unable to locate.  I began collecting them
around 5 years ago because I love them for foliage and design
components.  :) (What a great plant to use for both repeat form
& contrast in plantings with Cimicifuga & Aruncus!)  I'm
not anywhere near the collector now that I was then, but I do
still like them.

There has been a lot of great information shared in this thread
& some that I'm still a little confused by, but I'll share the
following observations.  They aren't gospel and I learn more
about them every year.  I continue to grow a few of as many as I
have in different conditions around the gardens.

Yes, Marge, I think they are heavy feeders but as long as they
are with a sturdy partner they don't seem to harm it.  What I
*have* noticed re: division is they suffer from clump crowding
in a way that is similar to Heuchera and others.  I think it is
very closely related to their being heavy feeders in that when
the roots are that dense, they can't get at or absorb nutrients
as well as when they have more space.  And they can push up in a
freeze/thaw cycle.

One of the observations about this feeding issue is I noticed
the same phenomenon with some A. x arendsii, A x crispa and A. x
taquetti hybrids that I stuck into soil that is mainly clay and
nearly always moist ++.  It happened to them about twice as fast
as those in rich, loose, organic soil that was quite a bit
drier.  Unscientific as all get-out, then again I wasn't
studying it ~ I just noticed it.

But Kay, I also agree that the rhisomes get quite woody which
probably contributes to some of the feeding problems.

[I bet I exceed length here but I'll give it a go.]  Clyde,
there are many with lovely foliage, including bronzes (as with
A. x taquetti 'Superba' & many of the German hybrids).  They
look fabulous with Tiarellas and others.  Because they have
been so very hybridized, there is an astilbe for almost everyone
~ they bloom at every time of the season, all heights & colors,
great variety in foliage shape & color.

They are mighty sturdy plants.  Try them out, then take cuttings
and try them all over the garden to see where they work for you.

Jaime
NW NJ, zone 5/6
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index