General Culture:

Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Prefers moist, humusy, organically rich soils. Soils should not be allowed to dry out. If regularly watered, foliage will usually remain attractive throughout the growing season. A summer compost mulch helps retain soil moisture. Removing faded flower stalks will not prolong bloom, but may improve plant appearance, particularly if a ground cover look is desired. On the other hand, many gardeners leave the flower stalks in place after bloom because of the continuing ornamental interest of the dried seed heads. Divide when clumps become over crowded (every 3-4 years).

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Astilbes are a mainstay of shade and woodland gardens. They are clump-forming perennials which feature graceful, fern-like mounds of mostly basal, 2-3 ternately compound leaves, usually with sharply-toothed leaflets, and tiny flowers densely packed into erect to arching, plume-like flower panicles rising above the foliage on slender, upright stems. One of the arendsii hybrids. The arendsii hybrids are a large group of hybrids involving crosses between A. chinensis, A. japonica, A. thunbergii and A. astilboides and are named after German nurseryman George Arends (1862-1952). Because of the different and sometimes complex parentage of the plants lumped under this hybrid grouping, arendsii hybrids can vary considerably as to plant size, inflorescence shape, leaf color/shape and bloom period. Generally, however, they are early bloomers (late spring in St. Louis) which grow 1.5 to 4’ tall with ovate to lance-shaped leaflets. RED CATTLEYA is almost identical to the popular ‘Cattleya’ (see B610) except the plumes are dark red instead of orchid pink. It is a tall cultivar which features large panicles of dark red flowers on upright stems (to 3.5’ tall). Typically forms a foliage mound to 12-15” high. Leaves emerge tinged with red but mature to dark green. Cultivar was named for the popular orchid genus.