Cotton Candy Meadow Rue - 20-Cell Plug Tray

Cotton Candy is a meadow rue that grows into a dense, narrow pillar of fine-textured foliage topped with wispy, fluffy lavender flowers. Unlike many leggy meadow rues, its flowers sit just above the leaves, so the plant looks balanced and full.

Its columnar shape adds height to small spaces without taking up much room, and the tall stems and long-lasting flowers are excellent for cutting. Deer and rabbits rarely bother it.

What it looks like

Airy, rounded clusters of tiny flowers made of fluffy, thread-like stamens in soft lavender pink, forming cotton-like puffs 3 to 5 inches across at the tops of the stems. The flowers sit just above the leaves. Foliage is finely divided, with small, rounded, lobed leaflets like columbine leaves, in medium green with a slightly bluish cast, densely covering the stems. The plant forms a narrow, columnar pillar 38 to 42 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide. At peak it looks like a tall green column topped with a lavender haze.

Growing it with lavender

Meadow rue prefers richer, more evenly moist soil than lavender, so plant it in a nearby border with some afternoon shade, where its airy flower sprays can rise behind lower plants.

Care

Grow in full sun to part shade in average to fertile soil that stays reasonably moist; afternoon shade helps in hot, dry spots. Hardy in zones 5-8; cut the flowering stems back after bloom if the plant looks tired, and leave it undisturbed once established.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Thalictrum
• Flower color: Soft lavender pink
• Foliage: Medium green with a bluish cast
• Growth habit: Narrow, columnar pillar
• Mature size: 38–42 in tall × 18–24 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 5–8
• Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
• Bloom start: Early-June
• Peak bloom: Late-June
• Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
• Deer resistance: Resistant
• Pollinator value: Good

Sizes and shipping

One full 20-cell plug tray: 20 large, field-ready plugs of this variety (cells about 2¾ in. wide × 3¼ in. deep or deeper), ready to plant out or pot up. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.