Astilbe – My Favorite Early Summer Flowering Plant

What I love about perennial plants is that they require little work and give such great pleasure.  Last summer I was recuperating from arm surgery and wasn’t able to plant one plant or flower; hence the empty pots on my front porch in the picture below.   I was so grateful for my perennials, especially my Astilbe, which gave life to our neglected garden and  brightened my spirits.

Planning for Perennial Blooms

Our garden has evolved over the years and with careful planning, we have flowering perennials that show up each month from April to October to brighten up our garden.

We were blessed to start with beautiful landscaping from the previous owner.  Since we bought our home 17 years ago, we have added and made changes along the way.

What I did learn though was to carefully select plants that will give color at different times of the year.

Beautiful Astilbe

What’s not to like about Astilbe?  The blooms are feathery plumes that show up in June.  In April though, the plant starts to grow back and the green foliage adds color to my garden beds.

Astilbe reliably blooms year after year and no dead heading is required until the blooms have died off.  After the blooms have lost their color, I cut the plumes back and leave the foliage for color and filler in the garden beds.

This lovely perennial spreads and is ideal for splitting to re-plant elsewhere in your yard or to share with friends.

Astilbe prefers part sun/shade.  My front yard faces north and does not have shade per se, just morning sun, which has been ideal as they have thrived.

Astilbe comes in a variety of colors.  In my front yard I have a collection of red, white and pink plants.

I like the contrast of the white astilbe against my Japanese Maple tree.

On the side of my house, I have pale pink Astilbe which looks pretty against the dark purple leaves of the ornamental tree behind it.  These used to thrive more when the side yard had more shade; however, over the years, we have had to remove dead trees which completely changes the landscape.

Although I love them all, the red Astilbe are my favorite for the punch of color they give.

Ideal Time to Plant Astilbe

Both Spring and Fall are ideal times to plant your Astilbe.  If you want to enjoy them yet this year, plant now for beautiful June plumes.

Additional Care for Astilbe

The only issue we have had with our Astilbe is that in late June we start to see the arrival of the Japanese Beetle which tend to feed on the plumes.  My husband sprays them with Sevin and it takes care of them.  Fortunately, Astilbe are deer resistant.

For more in-depth information, visit Garden.Org.

Thanks for stopping by.  I would love to hear from you in the comments below.  Do you have some Astilbe in your yard and what is your favorite color?