Favorite Astilbe 2

Thanks

After all of the digging and dividing in the lower garden last summer, here's a shot of the hosta and Astilbe hillside. All Astilbe are 'Peach Blossom'. Photo's a little foggy due to high humidity but it helps camouflage the untidiness.

Beautiful and I love the fog!

That is just astonishing.Fog is good.

I was so incredibly lucky that every single division took off growing like crazy this spring. And that we had a cool, wetter summer last year which reduced the stress on the poor plants.

Does anyone know what this dwarf astilbe is? The leaves stay within 2 inches of the ground. It lost its tag.

'Pumila' is the same color as is in your photo but the typical 'Pumila' is more like 8 to 12" tall. Is this a new plant? Maybe that would account for the small stature.

The tallest flower stem is maybe 8-12" tall. Does that count? I think I got it last year and it just sat there and didn't bloom. I'll check and see if I'm supposed to have pumila.
Thanks, pirl.

I'll bet that's what it is. A height of 12" sounds good.

I looked through my list, and couldn't find anything that seemed to match. Hmmm. I also looked at lots of pics of pumila, and they mostly seemed a much deeper pink, but the rest does seem to match. Maybe I just have iron-deficient soil or something.

I second that. Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila'. It spreads like a groundcover and blooms a little later than other astilbes.

It's also supposed to be more heat tolerant - an excellent thing considering what we've all been through this summer.

It's definitely lavender here - no trace of pink.

Thanks, Songs. Forgot about that blooming time. It's probably the last one, as it just started blooming, and most of my others are finished.

We cross-posted, pirl. Come to think of it, I thought it was supposed to be lavender, as I remember planting it near a deep purple geranium because of that.

I'll try and get better photos of it tomorrow. Here it is a nice light lavender. It does form a great tight mat and I use it as a ground cover because weeds just don't penetrate it.

Thanks!

Mine is light pink/lavendar too. It almost looks like it has flecks of blue in it. Does that sound right?

This message was edited Jul 19, 2010 8:35 PM

It certainly sounds lovely.

Sure does. I wonder if mine will change color when it's fully open. It's only beginning to flower now.

I have several varieties of very dwarf astilbes.
A couple are from Darrell Probst, more known for epimediums (Garden Visions Nursery).
I also have astilbe saxatilis, which I think I got from Edelweiss Nursery.
They all have foliage hugging the ground.
Only sporadic flowering this summer, since they are only 1-2 yrs old.
I'm trying them out as a shady groundcover. We'll see...

'Pumila' blooms later here too. And it is quite a ground hugger.
My batch of unnamed red Astilbes by the patio did not bloom well at all this year. I know we had sufficient rain as the foliage is looking great. Some flower buds just quit developing and turned black. It is the one batch of Astilbes that I didn't divide last year since the plants weren't really that big. Since I didn't do the dividing/amending soil thing, I'm wondering if it could be that they just need more nutrients since they're at the base of a large oak. The difference though between last year and this year bloom-wise is dramatic though.
I am somewhat disappointed with the flowers on 'Key Biscayne'. Planted it last fall. The foliage gets an orangey blush to it which looks great and does hold but the flowers by comparison just look like beigey-pink. We were having a heat wave over July 4 when it was in full flower (and I wasn't home) so maybe it just pushed the blooms into that dull color. Is anyone else growing this one?

I'm not growing Key Biscayne so I'm no help to you.

One way to check the astilbe by the oak is to remove half and plant it elsewhere, then check on the performance of each half next year. Compost underneath the division and all around the plant, as mulch, will be a big help to it. You can also add compost where you remove a chunk and that area will then be most hospitable to new growth.

I finally took more photos of Pumila and have to say I'm surprised it isn't as lavender as I always thought it was. It isn't exactly pink either so I'll call it orchid.

Thanks, pirl. Pumila does look just like mine. I'll bet that's what it is. I'd call it pink.
What color is "orchid"?

Pinky-lavender - I remember from my prom dress.

ooohhhh, I see. And the color was called "orchid"? Funny where we get our color names. I get some of mine from my 128 pack of crayolas.

That sounds like it could be great fun especially for a rainy day...if we ever have one again.

It was when I was a kid. Haven't had them for quite a while, but the color names stick. It would probably be a good idea for an unbearable hot muggy day, too, but here I am on the computer instead.

Beautiful pic of 'Pumilla'. This time of year when not much else is blooming in the shady lower garden, the 'Pumilla' is refreshing. 'Bressingham Beauty' is about half done blooming.
Pirl - you're probably right about dividing those unnamed reds of mine. Just have to think of a good home for the divisions. I'm thinking about waiting for a little cooler weather though. Last year, the task was so easy with temps in the 80's. This year, it's been consecutive days of 90+.

Thanks, Cindy. The dahlias have begun to bloom and I did work outside for 8 hours yesterday and did stake and tie some of the dahlias but the heat is just too much. Once we do get cooler weather we will all have enough of a "to do" list to last a month.

I have been out working yesterday and today but it's mostly dead-heading and tidying things up. I do have some dividing and planting and editing to do but it is supposed to be cooler next week - only in the 80's.