Astilbe chinensis

The genus name, Astilbe, is derived from the from the Greek words which mean "without" and "brightness". This name was born from the fact that some species in this genus have dull leaves. The species name, chinensis, is based on the Chinese origin of the plant. They go by the common name of Goat's Beard, Tall False-Buck's-Beard and Chinese Astilbe.

 

Astilbe chinensis grows in clumps and reaches a height of 45–90cm. The leaves mainly grow from the base and have sharp-toothed, oval leaflets that are quite hairy. The mounds of leaves resemble ferns. Astilbe have attractive leaves and erect plume-like groups of white, pink, or purple flowers in June and July. Their flowers are teeny-tiny and form on thin stems that can either go straight up or be arching. After they have flowered you want to cut them back to keep them looking good.

 

However, don’t go dead-heading Astilbe chinensis too soon! The old flower heads are an attractive site in autumn, even after they’ve turned brown. These plants like to be in soil that is rich in organic matter and nice and moist, but it does need to be well-drained. You need to keep this soil damp but not too wet especially over the winter because this is when the plant is dormant. They are safe for pets and young children.