Comments on: Feathery Astilbe

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 01:39:48 +0000

Kathie, when you say that the flowers are there but don’t seem to bloom out with colour, is it that the blooms are a more dingy shade? Astilbe can bloom in different shades of white, cream, pink and red, depending on the variety. Perhaps yours is one of the more beige coloured ones. There are brighter coloured varieties of Astilbe available, if you were looking for brighter flowers. Also, some of the white varieties are more bright, and some are more beige. Astilbe have gorgeous blooms, but unfortunately they don’t bloom for a long period of time in the garden. It might be that yours are done for the season.

Your Astilbe will appreciate the water you are giving them, as they aren’t fond of drying out. Also, although they are very tolerant of shade, they do get more blooms with more light.

By: kathie

kathie — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:22:44 +0000

I’m not sure which Astilbe I have. My plants are VERY healthy, the flowers are there but don’t seem to bloom out with color. They are well watered but do I need to add something to the soil?

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:50:41 +0000

Gail, the Astilbe don’t like to dry out, and will get brown and crispy when they do. I grow them in the shade, which cuts down on moisture loss, and mulch around them, to help them conserve water too. They might be more prone to drying out in a hotter climate, depending on where you garden.

By: gail

gail — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:12:00 +0000

Hi,

My astilbe turn brown quite quickly, sometimes when the buds are starting to
open. I see from other comments they need lots of water. What kind of
fertilzer should I be using. Mine are mostly under the oak tree, but I have some in full sun and they always seem to bloom.

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:32:33 +0000

Gail, I can see that you’d have to be very selective in the water requirements of your plants. You seem to have found many plants that flourish in a xeriscape garden.
You could still tuck an astilbe in next to your rainbarrel. : )

By: Gail

Gail — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:50:47 +0000

Your astilbes are lovely….I tried to grow them when I first gardened here but there is no way I can give them the water they need…and it appears that we are getting less rain each summer! sigh…

Gail

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:50:11 +0000

Ulrike, I’ve been fortunate that we’ve had enough rain this month to satisfy the astilbe with almost no extra watering. ‘Diamant’ gets only a little early morning sun, being on the northern side of a fence, and at the outer edges of the some tree branches, so they conserve their moisture. The Hennie Graafland is tucked on the east side of my house next to a fence, so they too get a cool retreat to conserve water. Also, they probably appreciate our summer temperatures. Most days this month have had a high of around 20 C to 25 C (68 F to 77F).

By: Ulinne

Ulinne — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:40:16 +0000

Ah ja, Astilben gehören auch zu meinen Lieblings-Stauden. Leider sind sie immer sehr schnell beleidigt, wenn es nicht genügend Wasser gibt …
Wunderschöne Fotos davon!
Liebe Grüße
Ulrike

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 03:40:55 +0000

Hi # 4, astilbe are fairly easy care perennials, but they will get crispy brown leaf edges if they get too dry. They look lovely under trees.
I’m glad you like the damselfly shot. It found the perfect petal for its landing.

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 03:33:28 +0000

Nancy, when I first took the photos, and looked at the tiny thumbnail sized shots on my computer, they looked vaguely out of focus. Then I enlarged them, and discovered it was just the fluffy plumes looking naturally fuzzy. : )