Thalictrum Species, Dwarf Meadow Rue, Kyoshu Meadow Rue

This has been a very hardy little gem for me, surviving 14 Alaskan winters. The leaves look like a dwarf Epimedium until the charming pin...Read Morek flowers appear. The only challenge has been keeping the airborne weed seeds from destroying the effect, especially grass.

The roots make tiny potato-like storage bodies that may make propagation easier than some suggest. It does increase only slowly.

Zone 4a hardy - they're more commonly sold those days - but can be frustrated to grow - taller plants or weeds love to overtake them in m...Read Morey yard but have a interesting relationship in one area with some pussytoes - actually last year (2007) the meadowrue seem to be driving the pussytoes back in an spot that got a shot of direct full every day so shade and some sun plants mix together! Woodland shade. Good plants for shade rock gardens.

Among the short species of Thalictrum, this one is the most beautiful and well-behaved. First the bad news: it's hard to find and expens...Read Moreive. It grows fairly slowly, creeping underground and almost never reseeding. Now the good news: It has beautiful, long lasting flowers similar to the T. aquilegiafolium. It's really short--like 3", so it works very well for alpine gardens, among low growing, non-invasive plants. I can imagine using them in very formal situations, or as a ground cover among Oriental lilies or Spring bulbs, but I have not gotten a significant volume of them yet. In Minnesota, don't expect to see Spring shoots until Mid-May. They are small and fragile, so mark the area, but be prepared for several inches of movement. Don't let anything crowd them out.

Rhizomatous perennial from Japan.

Has rounded, 3-5 lobed, dark blue-green leaflets. Bears loose corymbs of a few, tiny, pa...Read Morele mauve/pink flowers which gives the appearance of a small powderpuff.

Flowers May-July

Needs a cool, moist, fertile, acid peat soil in partial shade. Flowers best in regions where the Spring and Summer is cool and damp.

Has been quite hardy here so far....