Delft Lace is an astilbe prized as much for its foliage as its flowers. The lacy, deep blue-green leaves have a waxy finish and red highlights, and they take on burgundy tones in fall.
In early summer, red stems carry deep salmon red buds that open to soft apricot pink plumes, and deep red seed heads keep the color going through summer. It has stronger stems and richer color than older peach-toned astilbes and grows two to three feet tall. Deer and rabbits leave it alone.
What it looks like
Upright, branched plumes 6 to 10 inches long of tiny soft apricot pink flowers opening from deep salmon red buds, held on red stems; seed heads later turn deep red. Leaves are compound, lacy and finely cut, deep blue-green with a waxy surface and reddish highlights on stems and edges. The plant is a robust clump 24 to 36 inches tall and about 24 inches wide. At peak bloom apricot pink plumes rise on red stems over blue-green foliage.
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
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Flower color: Soft apricot pink from salmon red buds
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Foliage: Deep blue-green with red highlights
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Growth habit: Robust, upright clump
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Mature size: 24–36 in tall × 24 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: Late-June
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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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