Cimicifuga racemosa -Bugbane - sun question

I just planted three of these beauties but I am worried about the amount of sun they will be receiving. They are in a spot where they will receive morning sun until about 11 a.m. or noon. Will that be too much sun?

No.

I bet they would thrive with that. I think mine get too much shade.

I think I'm in the same boat as Noreaster with the shade but mine bloom reliably every year. They're just waaaay tall.

I get blooms, too. But the ones I have - Brunette, Atropurpurea, and Hillside Black Beauty are all supposed to have darker foliage. I find that they all go a bit green in the shade. I think the color would be better with a bit more sun- especially morning sun. HBB is a total dud for me. I planted two along with one Atropurpurea in a spot and the HBBs have barely grown at all in four years while Atropurpurea is huge. I'm not a huge fan of flower scents, but that is one that I really do love to smell.

My dark foliaged cimifugas are also green in shade.

I just got some this spring and they are in pots right now and getting morning sun.
The foliage is very dark. I guess I will re-think where I was going to plant them, if they are more green in the shade.
Pam

So as much as I covet the dark foliage, it sounds like I should just be content with the species, huh?

The foliage is still pretty....it's just not as rich a color in the shade. I have Brunette in partial shade...really pretty good, dappled light all day long, and I think that retains pretty good color. I moved it from a place that was shadier and I really did not like it's color there. Atropurpurea is in deep shade and that one goes dark green for me (but is really thriving). Hillside Black Beauty, which is clustered with Atro is dark right now...I can't remember how green that one gets...I'll see if I can find any pics of that from last year. They are both so small, however, that I hardly remember they are there.

This message was edited May 25, 2010 7:09 PM

Ok, here is a pic of that group taken in late July of last year. This is in dappled early morning sun, then full shade until the end of the day. It looks like HBB is a touch darker and less green than Atropurpurea, which is the tall one in the back. Even though the leaves do turn green, the stems remain purple, which is nice.

OK this is all good news. Thank you! I will stick with the morning sun area for my new beauties. Sometimes when I am reading up on a particular plant, I will get conflicting information. One website (I can't recall which one) stated full shade - of course after I had all three in the ground. So I thought I would double-double check again. I should always check here first, which I usually do. Thanks again. I got these from BlueStonePerennials.com. They came packed wonderfully and in great condition.

This message was edited May 25, 2010 7:09 PM

Ah - I may have to shop for one of those dark varieties after all. They do appear to retain some of that darker color, providing enough contrast to all of the other greens. With mostly shade here, once we're through spring, the garden colors turn almost all green and I'm always looking for foliage colors.