Bare root astilbe should be planted upon arrival in the early spring. Once they’re introduced to heat and humidity they’ll begin to sprout inside the bags. Ideally, I want to get them out of the bags and into soil as soon as possible.
Astilbes prefer part to full shade and rich, relatively moist soil. Bare root astilbe should be planted with the crown of the plant at or just barely below the soil surface. If it’s planted too deeply the plant may rot, but if it’s too shallow the roots may become exposed, and it may succumb to drying out.
Start by loosening the soil to the depth of the bare root itself. Next, place the bare root into the prepared hole so that the crown of the plant is at soil level. Cover it back up with soil, firm it in lightly, and water well.
Bare root astilbe can also be planted in pots. For this, use a nursery pot that’s slightly larger than the root system. Fill the pot with a bit of potting soil so that when you place the root into the pot the crown will be near the top. Then place my root in the container, fill in around with soil, firm lightly, and water it in. Grow these plants inside near a sunny window or under grow lights until you're ready to plant them outside.
Just like all perennials, bare roots will sleep the first year, creep the second, and leap the third. So don’t worry if you only see a few flowers the first year. By year two and three they will be covered in gorgeous blooms. And speaking of blooms, astilbes come in beautiful shades of white, peach, pink, purple, and even red. I love planting them in big, massive drifts so that I have a large show of their beautiful spikey blooms.
Here in zone 6b, southern PA astilbe blooms in late June through July. The bloom color gradually fades to green before eventually turning brown in the fall. You can choose to remove the flowering stocks when this happens or leave them in the garden for winter interest. They also have lovely, ferny foliage that looks good all growing season. And both the foliage and flowers are long lasting in the vase. I love to use the flowers in spiraling bouquets, and I also enjoy drying the blooms for craft projects in the fall.
Astilbe also comes in a wide selection of heights. Since I grow mine for cutting, I always choose the tallest cultivars. But there are also compact, short varieties that work well in the front of a shade border. I guess you could say there’s an astilbe for everyone!
2 авг 2024
