Bressingham Beauty is a tall astilbe with long, gracefully arching plumes of dusty salmon rose flowers beginning in early summer. The soft color and relaxed, drooping plume shape give it an elegant look in shaded borders.
The finely cut green leaves form a bushy clump about three feet tall in bloom. It is a good choice for woodland gardens, mass plantings and containers, and the plumes can be cut fresh or dried. Deer and rabbits leave it alone.
What it looks like
Long, tapering, feathery plumes 10 to 12 inches long that arch and droop at the tips, made of tiny dusty salmon rose flowers. Plumes are held on upright stems above the foliage. Leaves are compound, finely dissected, toothed and medium green, forming a bushy clump. The plant is about 36 inches tall in bloom and 24 to 30 inches wide. At peak bloom soft rose plumes arch gracefully over the fern-like leaves.
Growing it with lavender
Astilbe needs moist, rich soil and shade, the opposite of lavender's dry, sunny bed, so plant it in a shade garden or along a damp woodland edge with hostas and ferns.
Care
Astilbe grows best in part shade in rich, humus-rich soil that never dries out; in the north it takes more sun if kept moist. Hardy in USDA zones 4-9. Mulch to hold moisture, water during dry spells to prevent leaf scorch, and leave the dried plumes for winter interest before cutting back in spring.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Astilbe × arendsii
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Flower color: Dusty salmon rose
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Foliage: Medium green
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Growth habit: Bushy clump with arching plumes
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Mature size: 36 in tall × 24–30 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
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Light: full sun, part sun to part shade, full shade
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Bloom start: Mid-June
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Peak bloom: Early-July
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Bloom pattern: Single Flush
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
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