Astilbe Flower: Planting, Care and How To Grow 10 Types (Colors) of Astilbe

Image Credit: MabelAmber³⁰

Tips For Creating the Ideal Astilbe Garden

Once you’ve settled on growing Astilbe plants, you want to make sure you have a healthy environment for it to grow in.

You have to maintain a moist semi-shaded environment with a lot of organic material.

Making Sure You’re in the Right Astilbe Flower Growing Zone

Astilbe plants grow very well in zones three through nine.¹¹ These are zones that have an array of mild temperature seasons that barely fall below freezing.

You can reference the USDA zone map using your zip code to determine which zone you live in.

Planning Ahead for the Astilbe Flower Growth Rate

Astilbe plants grow slowly, taking some time to establish a durable root system. It usually takes them a year to bloom.

They spread via rhizomes and need to be divided every four years to make room for ample airflow and sunlight. Be patient while waiting for the new growth.

Picking Companion Plants For Growing Astilbe Flower

Companion plants will be plants that also thrive in shady and wet locations.¹² Hostas, irises, and coral bells grow in the same manner with a mounded shape and tall spindly flower stalks.

Ferns have similar leaf patterns and can complement the texture of the Astilbe. Select different Astilbe species that bloom at different times to add a pop of color all year.

Tips for Growing Astilbe Flower From a Seed, Cutting, or Seedling

Astilbe seeds can be harvested at the end of summer or early in spring, when the weather is very hot. The flower heads should be dried and faded to a gold color, very much like wheat.

(Image: Pezibear²⁹)

Grab the stalk and roughly crumble the entire flower head into a bowl. The seeds are fine, like dust and will be near inseparable from the chaff left over from the flower petals.

Lay the seeds on moist organic potting soil, without pressing them in. If possible, use an average of four to five seeds per plant.

They will take 28 to 35 days to germinate.¹³ Keep in mind, starting Astilbe from seeds is very hard to do.

Most seeds tend to rot before germinating and sometimes the plants are short lived and do not resemble the parent plant because of all the hybridization.

If the seeds germinate and sprout roots, they become seedlings. Seedlings are best started in containers where soil conditions can be monitored closely.

Keep the soil moist but not soggy as this will drown the budding roots. Keep the seedling out of direct sunlight.

Over winter the first year and plant the following spring. Avoid planting during the summer months when the soil is at risk for drought,

The easiest method is to grow one from a cutting. If you’ve had any experience dividing hostas, you can separate Astilbe ‘bulbs’.

One clump or rhizome bulb can provide four to six new plants. You can use a shovel to dig into the soil and remove a small portion of the parent plant.

Rinse away as much earth as possible. Select a stem with a fair amount of healthy leaves growing up from the bulb.

You will be cutting this stem and its root section away from the rest of the bulb. Use a disinfected knife, cut down from the top of the root ball, into, and through the rhizome.

This new section, with its leaves stems and partial root ball, can now be placed in wet soil to begin a new plant. The cutting will look and perform the same as the parent plant.

Tips for Astilbe Care and How To Stop Astilbe Flower Disease

Astilbe are generally durable plants, but even they can fall victim to pests and disease.²¹ Because of the watering needs for Astilbe plants, the area tends to be moist, which can create a plethora of problems.

Leaf spot, powdery mildew, and wilt are common fungal infections for Astilbe. Affected areas will look black, spotty, or wilted.

It’s best to treat untreated areas with a natural fungicide as well as trim away damaged leaves and stems. Since many fungal spores can remain in ground coverings, you need to remove and throw away the surrounding mulch and debris.

Asiatic garden beetles and black vine weevils are two of the most common pests of the Astilbe flower. Beetles lay their eggs in the moist soil and the grubs eat the tender roots of developing plants.

Weevils also attack the root system as well as chew on leaves. You can use organic sprays and systemic control as natural pest solutions for the Astilbe flower.

Astilbe plants are ignored by rabbits and deer but will draw in hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. They are low-maintenance and very easy to care for once established.

10 Astilbe Colors and Varieties

Native to the Asian regions, Astilbes have over 25 different species,¹⁷ many with distinctive bloom styles and leaf foliage.

Some have bloom stalks that can reach 6 feet, ideal in backgrounds or along fences, while others are small and compact, perfect for groundcover or container gardening.

The Chinensis variety is more drought-tolerant than other Astilbe varieties.

It is a larger variety, with its bloom stalk reaching three to six feet tall and a ground coverage of almost three feet wide. Biternata blooms during spring and summer seasons and are white to cream in color and occasionally a light pink.

Blooms appear in late spring through early summer and are pink,³ red, or burgundy.

7. Crenatiloba

Commonly called the Roan False Goat’s-beard, the Crenatiloba is a much larger variety,⁶ with a 6 foot tall bloom stalk. Its blooms appear in June and are usually white, pink, and purple.

8. Astilbe x arendsii

Arendsii is a ground cover variety; its flower stalk is two to three feet tall while its leaf spread is 18 to 24 inches wide. It typically blooms July through August,⁸ and can be planted alongside other Astilbe flowers for year-round color.

Blooms are red, pink, purple, and white. It is the only variety to have colored foliage, sometimes being green with a bronze tint.

The ‘chocolate shogun’ strain has maroon leaves.

9. Glaberrima

The Glaberrima variety is small and compact,⁹ its bloom reaching only four to five feet tall. During the late summer months, it has a very delicate spray of flowers that are a distinctive pearl-like pink.

While this is only a small handful of all of the varieties out there, it is important to note that most of these varieties are hybrid versions and have been crossed between native species found growing all along Asia.²⁰

How To Identify Astilbe Flower Parts

If you’ve spent a lot of time designing your backyard garden, most likely you’ve seen a few plants that have caught your eye. And with its distinctive bloom and foliage, the Astilbe plant tends to stand out amongst other shade plants.

Identifying Astilbe Leaves

Astilbe leaves are generally dark green. They are three to six inches long,¹⁸ one to three inches wide, oval in shape, and have serrated edges.

Leaves grow in groups, first as a set of two and then branching further into a set of three at the tip of the stem. The final set of leaves will have three lobes.

They are often described as having a fern-like appearance because they grow pinnately along the stem.

Identifying Astilbe Flowers

Flowers grow in small clusters at the end of stiff vertical bloom stalks. The flowers are fragrant and long-lasting, about two to three weeks.

They attract a variety of pollinators such as bees and butterflies. From a distance, they appear as giant plumes growing high above their dark green leaves.

But up close, the clusters are collections of small individual flowers less than an inch wide with four to five petals. Each flower has a central stamen.

Astilbe plants contain both male and female reproduction parts.

Whether you’re looking for pink or purple flowers or planning to use many types of white flowers in your home garden, the Astilbe flower will more than meet your landscaping goals.

Frequently Asked Questions About Astilbe Flower