ahhh that's why mine are ugly right now, I thought they were getting too much sun and that's why they were crispy.

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you rouge :( but you helped me!

I purchased two astilbe plants for cheap at the end of the season last year. I didn't realize just how much water they really needed! This year they looked beautiful for about two weeks. I ended up transplanting them to a very shady area in a wooded part of my backyard garden. They look better there because I can't see them as clearly. :-) I still don't love them.

If you have a small gardening space, maybe give them to someone who would love them. Or, give them two out of your four. Otherwise, if you have a large space, maybe move them to a spot where they won't stare you in the face when they get ugly.

The few that I have in the ground do just crisp up like you say. Regardless of how much I water.. they just don't like the summer heat. I did put a few in an ex-carnivorous plant bog I have and they of course do great with the wet feet. I might try digging up the others and replanting them in sealed pots with drain holes high up the sides of the pot... in an attempt to keep them wet.

I have mine in a lot of shade and they are staying in good shape. That being said, I just planted about twelve in one large area that gets more sun, and I'm thinking I'll have a crispy mess next year after reading this thread!

Like the OP I love the flowers, the ferny leaves, and that they thrive in part shade to shade situations. When it comes down to it, I guess accept their crispy and brown appearance later in the summer for the glory of their flowers and pristine foliage in spring and early summer. They do make a nice contrast to all the "leav-y" plants like hostas and heucheras.

Because they very reliably bloom in the spring (with rainfall being predictably steady) I have 'put up' with the bad foliage come August and September. I guess part of the problem is my Astilbe are close to the front, visible for all to see.

But they take up real estate that could be used for wonderful PHLOX!

My deer don't eat astilbes - that's worth a lot around here.

Rouge, just wondering if your space would be good for some phlox then maybe it isn't the right place for the astilbe? I don't think I could grow both types of plants well in the same place in my garden. What do you think?

sherry

My deer don't eat astilbes - that's worth a lot around here.

Definitely. I understand completely.

'sherry', that is an excellent observation.

What I have found is that Phlox P can be successful in less than full sun.

But thinking more about you have said...the garden I am thinking about has 2 astilbes. I am convinced that one of the spots would be suitable for phlox...so maybe I will remove just one of the astilbes?

I don't have astilbe myself, but would they survive if you cut them back once they turn crispy? You could enjoy their spring beauty, but then make some space for later performing plants. And, if they didn't come back the next year, then you could replace them.

Martha

I have been thinking about removing my astilbe as well. My garden is just too dry - shade gardens under big oaks; they don't get really wet even in a rain shower!

But I have a friend who has a very wet garden, and the astilbe there is amazing. Big, floriferous, and never crispy. I think I will give her my astilbes - that is, if they survive this prolonged dry spell we've had here!

I have extensive shade gardens and deer, and I don't water--ever. I don't grow astilbe either.

Chinese Astilbe blooms later in the season and is more tolerant of dryness than Astilbe Arendsi and Japonica. It has coarser foliage.and I think stands up better to heat, etc. There are taller and shorter varieties; the Visions series are readily available and Pumila is a nice short variety. For me it blooms later in Aug and is still blooming now. It makes a nice ground cover.

Debbie, that's a really great point about the type of astilbe. I have a lot of the chinensis because I like the later bloom. They do seem to stand up quite well to heat and drought.

It's been my experience that any plant that flowers late in the season always has better, mostly great, foliage all season. I haven't found an exception yet.

Sherry

While I agree with your statement, Sherry, I find that astilbe foliage crisps up in dry soil very early in the summer here, not foliage aging into fall display.

Chinese astilbe foliage stays nice all summer into the fall for me. I have moved my other astilbe around the garden and the only time the foliage stayed nice was when it was still in the pots and watered most every day. Once I planted it in the soil in the same area I could not water enough to compensate for tree roots and other perennials stealing the moisture from the astilbe.

An astilbe that is so incredibly awesome in my garden with no extra care is 'Color Flash'. It spreads nicely and if you google images, the foliage really does get that color. This one has never gotten crispy. Love this one!

Good to know about Color Flash, Thyme2 dig. That was one I was interested in purchasing but held back because I wasn't sure if it lived up to its image. I love burgundy foliage so am definitely putting it on my list for next year!

As is often the case, with such a thread I inevitably look more closely at the genus.

"Color Flash" does look interesting.

Has anyone had experience with Astilbe grandis.....a 6 foot tall Astilbe!

GIANT Astilbe

Am cutting back things in our mixed perennial garden in order to keep powdery mildew at bay, to expose the spring plants to more light and water this fall and so that dead foliage from summer does not detract from the fall perennials. As I go the astilbes and other spring plants become visible again.

Most of our astilbes are located at the back of, or within, our mixed perennial beds. Working on our garden today, I exposed the astilbes below;

3 'Visions' along with other earlier blooming perennials:

'Rheinland':

The point is that they've been hidden from view, from the front of the beds, all summer. I think the condition of these plants also reflects our attention to watering through the growing season.

Below astilbes in a narrow strip of our garden which is partially shaded and which is not covered by taller perennials in summer (July 2, 2015: 2 'Fanal' blooming and a 'Youngique' lilac).

The same area today (below, as in the picture above, the 'Patriot' Hosta).

Not so colourful, but not looking so bad either. Am taking this as evidence of adequate attention to watering through the growing season.

Knowing their watering needs I placed a hanging flower pot in that area. When I water the pot my astilbes and Siberian Iris get watered. This is not practical for everyone of course, just a suggestion.

It's really a case of right plant right place. My yard is too dry from all the maple roots - astilbes toast. Oh well. Maybe next house...

peren.all, that is a stunning pic with that mass planting of 'pumila'. Thank you for that.

Thanks rouge! I have been checking out A. grandis and the info is all over the map as to hardiness and height. It will be interesting to hear if anyone is growing it and where they are zonally.

Never had them, don't want them either, Nasty, fussy, little fluffy things - I like my fluff to be on the giant side...and if I absolutely felt I couldn't live without fluffy panicles, I would be looking at sorbaria or aruncus (although I am not). I have made one concession to fluffiness with filipendula (and only because of the outrageous pink).

eta - I will go along with structural fluffiness such as the umbels, but I dunno, astilbe (or the horrid celosia) has never floated my boat. If you are having doubts Rouge, ditch them - there are untold numbers of interesting plants to pick from - why put up with moribund performers?

I loved my Astilbe this year.

Mmmm, very nice, Catkin - | suspect my childish hostility is a direct result of my complete inability to keep an astilbe alive for more than a month - have much the same feelings towards tricyrtis (trycirtis?) - another wilful suicidal type.

Thanks, Camp. These were grocery store plants, I just gave them some water and away

they went!

Do phlox really need full sun? I was considering these for a part sun area. We get sun in the morning but it would mostly be in the shade.

'Emily', it has been my experience that Phlox P can do well in (much) less than full sun. But it is so hard to be really precise re part sun and part shade. The only way to tell for your location is to experiment. Plant one and see how it does!

I would say garden phlox do best with enough sun; not well in "(much)" less than full sun. Sun is one of the things that keep garden phlox healthy, hence looking good. Perhaps at least here, the appearance and development of powdery mildew on phlox is a good yard-stick for garden phlox health.

At the same time, I'd say, like Rouge, garden phlox can do well with a surprising amount of shade, though the particular cultivars and how the garden is being maintained are also involved. I'm actually finding that 'Nora Leigh' looks better at this time of year when it is not in full sun (and that with other growing conditions held constant). Perhaps this is a variegated garden phlox thing. I know Rouge has 'Shockwave' (as we, thanks to him).

I'm with Rouge on what gardening can be: namely, trying it. As per the old gardener adage, if you want to know where to place a plant, buy three, put them in three different locations and the plant will tell you where it should have been placed. On the other hand, it's cheaper to try one, in what seems to be the very best growing conditions in your garden, and watch for what happens.

I just pulled mine up and planted a hydrangea in its place.

Do certain astilbe only flower in spring? Mine are not looking very good at the moment and they are in pots on my porch. Do they send up new flowers or is this it? It looked nice a few weeks back and I have been watering.

With this unusually dry spell our Astilbes have now crisped :( prior to flowering to boot. And once that happens it has been my experience that there ain't no going back ie no amount of moisture to come will revive them.

Mine are done as well. We've had pouring rain for nearly 2 days...everything else in the garden responded to the rain beautifully except astilbe. I'm moving mine farther back in the bed to hide my shame.

Just curious, where are you hi_60 that you got all that rain? I hope you aren't in Virginia :(.

Not VA, but MO. Rain yesterday, this AM, and more tonight.

So due to the lack of rain, of the 4 Astilbes in our garden, not one flowered this season....disappointing in a relatively short growing season. Way too much space taken up with a plant seemingly extra dependent on moisture to flower.

Are we the only people who can't grow these? Last night I counted 5 houses in my subdivision with beautiful drifts of blooming astilbes. Maybe my home is some kind of anti-astilbe microclimate.

My astilbes haven't done well the past couple of years and I have 10 or more in various garden beds that are part-shade. I have some Astilbe chinensis (among others) and am in Southern New England. Normally we get plenty of rain early in the growing season so I never hesitated to add more astilbe cultivars to my garden beds. Now I wonder if that was a regrettable decision and am wishing I'd spent my perennial $$ on plants that tolerate a wider variety of growing conditions.

To answer the OP's question, although I cherish their feathery foliage, I might not have purchased astilbe if other perennials had been preferable and available.

Normally we get plenty of rain early in the growing season so I never hesitated to add more astilbe cultivars to my garden beds. Now I wonder if that was a regrettable decision and am wishing I'd spent my perennial $$ on plants that tolerate a wider variety of growing conditions.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

One of the several (now sorry looking) Astilbes I have is on one side of a narrow path that I must walk down multiple times each day. It bugged me seeing this plant so often with crispy straw like stems, now indistinguishable as any perennial let alone an Astilbe. Even in its very sorry state I know it will return next spring. So before I had second thoughts I dug it out and replaced it with the Lobelia "Fan Scarlet". I know, I know...kind of like 6 of one, half dozen of the other in terms of water needs. The lobelia was an impulse buy. Who else has this particular variety?

I have both white and red astilbes in heavy shade. They are growing strong, hale and hearty. No crisping here yet, and we've had some hot-as-blazes days so far this summer.

BUT . . . . I am unhappy with the astilbes for two reasons. #1. Their blooming period seems amazingly short. Maybe because of all the shade? #2. I am anal about flower colors. When I purchased the Vision in Red astilbe, I did not want pink, fuschia, burgundy, rose, coral, blush, wine, or any variation thereof. I do NOT love pink flowers, and I wanted RED. Which it quite clearly is not. I haven't decided what to do about Visions in Red, but it ain't going to be pretty. :(