Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Other Names:  False Spirea

Description:

Graceful spikes of red plumes, rise above shiny medium green leaves; perfect in a shady spot with dappled light; prefers moisture so water regularly for abundant flowers and nice foliage; flowers are great for dried arrangements

Ornamental Features

Hot Pearls® Chinese Astilbe has masses of beautiful plumes of red flowers at the ends of the stems from mid to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated ferny compound leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Hot Pearls® Chinese Astilbe is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Hot Pearls® Chinese Astilbe is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Hot Pearls® Chinese Astilbe will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity extending to 18 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 12 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth. This plant is a heavy feeder that requires frequent fertilizing throughout the growing season to perform at its best. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Hot Pearls® Chinese Astilbe is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.