Astilbe Gloria Violet-Pink flowers
Notify MeViolet-pink is an unusual register for an astilbe, sitting between the clear pinks and the reds. Astilbe x arendsii 'Gloria Purpurea' carries dense, softly branching plumes in that colour on upright stems, above a mound of dark green foliage cut into pointed leaflets. The plumes hold colour for weeks and then dry to a warm brown. Flowering is December to February.
Shade planting benefits from a colour with some depth in it, and this astilbe provides that without tipping into red. Use it in woodland borders, beside water, in a damp corner of a courtyard, or in a group under deciduous trees. Hostas, ferns and Japanese anemones make good neighbours. Stems cut cleanly for the vase.
Choose a position in part shade with deep, moisture-retentive soil, avoiding the dry ground directly beneath thirsty trees. Work compost in before planting, particularly on new-build sections where topsoil is thin, and mulch each spring. Set plants about 40 cm apart. Lift and divide every three years to keep the clump flowering strongly.
Flower stems reach 0.6 to 0.8 m, over a clump about 0.5 m across.
Trimming: Cut old flower stems and leaves right down at the end of winter. Leave them through autumn, as the dried plumes stand up to wind and rain surprisingly well.
Deadheading: No purpose to it. This astilbe flowers once from each crown, and the faded plumes hold their shape well enough to leave alone.
Fertilising: Compost mulch each spring, plus a slow-release feed as the first shoots show. Astilbes respond quickly to feeding, and an unfed plant in poor soil produces far fewer plumes.
Watering: Steady moisture through summer is the difference between a good plant and a poor one. Crisp brown leaf margins are the first sign it has been allowed to dry out.
Pest Control: Slugs and snails go for the emerging spring foliage, and vine weevil attacks plants in containers. Tip pots out and check the roots if one fails to thrive.
Disease Management: Marked and spotted leaves usually mean the plant has been dry, or is too crowded. Mulch well, water consistently, and thin congested clumps by division.
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