The secrets of growing astilbe in your garden

If one is looking for a spectacular garden flower, Astilbe is an excellent choice. Thanks to its fascinating leaves, the bush remains beautiful throughout the summer season, and not only during the flowering. The bush tiny flowers create graceful inflorescences on high peduncles that appear in the first half of the summer. These plants can be of different shades of red, pink and white. If you suddenly fell in love with this magnificent flower, we recommend you to consider the below species:

Astilbe Arendsii

There are about 40 varieties of Arends astilbe plant that were born thanks to the selection of David’s astilbe with other species. Its strong bushes can reach one meter in height. The inflorescences can be coloured in lilac, pink, white or red. The flowering lasts up to 40 days from July to August. The best varieties of it are Gloria, Diamant, Weiss Gloria, Glut, Rubin, etc.

Japanese Astilbe

The height of compact bushes does not exceed 0.8 meters. Glossy leaves are most often ornamental. White or pink flowers are collected in inflorescences, and the process of flowering begins earlier than in other species. Modern varieties are resistant to cold, and they also take root well. The most popular of them are Deutschland, Rhineland, Europe, Montgomery, etc.

Chinese Astilbe

The height of the bush can vary from 100 to 110 centimetres. Basal leaf plates have a large size. The length of the peduncle is from 30 to 35 centimetres of the violet, white or pink colours. There are also dwarf species of 15-25 centimetres in height, and also forms with conical inflorescences. Such plants mostly bloom in sunny areas. The top varieties are Purpurlanze, Vision in Pink, Vision in Red, etc.

Growing the Astilbe from Seeds

The plant can be propagated from seeds, as well as by bush or roots division. Flower growers with little experience most often use vegetative propagation methods. Nevertheless, only the seed propagation method allows the creation of new varieties.

Seeds are usually sown in March. For this purpose, you will need a wide container, which should be 15 centimetres high. It is filled with a mixture of sand and peat. Then, put a layer of snow over the soil, and spread the seeds over the surface of the snow, which melts and lifts them deep into the soil.

Further, the seeds will need to be stratified. To do this, when the snow has completely melted, the container must be placed in a transparent bag and then placed in the fridge. The container should stay there for about 3 weeks until the seedlings appear. Then the container is removed to a well-lit place with a temperature of 18 to 22 degrees. The plants must be watered very carefully, otherwise, they will die. So, water should be poured exclusively at the root. After the plants have 2 or 3 true leaf plates, they need to be planted in separate pots. Good luck!