OMG Crazy!!!! Your picture of your gardens tempted me to look for more posted by you http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/559437019rWOgMW I'm speechless AND drooling - absolutely stunning! All I've been doing since I moved to VA eight years ago is planting more trees for shade. After looking at your photos I wish I had more sun! LOL Your pond is incredibly beautiful and how wonderful to have a "swimming hole" :)
astilbe
my astilbe also crunched up on me this summer. After I moved it ,i waited a few days and then cut off all the super stressed and withered parts,even some flowers. It popped right back and although it has the look of charlie brown's xmas tree.. its doing just fine.
A.
My time on DG tends to be feast or famine...just came across this posting. Wow, what fabulous gardens, Crazy! You've got a slice of heaven there--even in winter!
I'm trying to glean some info on Astilbes as spring '07 I planted 3 bare root Astilbe 'Key West.' They did fine, although not spectacular in the way of blooms. This year they got off to a great start, but towards the end of spring we had a long weekend with record setting HOT temps (whilst we were out of town, no less!). I came home to the most pitiful plants; they were parched...leaves completely shriveled. Amazingly, water brought them back to life and they then went through a rather abrupt flower cycle.
Now, there's lots of new growth at the crown. So I cut off the spent stuff as it was drying and unsightly. But I'm questioning whether I should've done that and whether I've got them in the right location. They get full shade, with maybe 30 minutes max of earliest morning sun. The ground typically stays moist; but now that I think of it, they're next to an hydrangea. Perhaps they're just not able to compete for the water. Any thoughts?
I have a shady bed on the north side of the house, but it gets afternoon sun from about noon-2. The soil is primarily acidic clay there; so I usually amend the planting hole when planting stuff. Any ideas on whether this would be a good spot for the Astilbe?
Love that water crystal idea. Thanks All!
Thanks for the comments. I have planted astible in full shade in dry areas and they don't do much but with lots of water they thrive even in more sun. They need moisture in my yard and compost soil. I'm not sure if that helps.
Crazy
plantmover, in your area I'm thinking the noon-2 sun exposure might be too much! I planted 'Key West' last year in a spot that I thought would be perfect - couple of hours of early morning sun then shaded by the high canopy of a Redbud for the rest of the day. They did okay, although last summer's drought almost did them in. This year they were looking good but then something happened to the Redbud, lost about 2/3 of the canopy and now the 'Key West' are in the sun until mid afternoon and getting fried :( The Redbud is recovering, albeit slowly, but I'm not going to take any chances and plan to move the Astilbes. Cutting yours back was the best thing to do, if you're seeing "lots of new growth at the crown" they should be fine :) If you do decide to move them to the spot on the shady side of your house, just make sure to give them extra water to help them thrive in case the hot noon sun is too much for them!
I've got a question about Key West, too. I planted mine this spring, and they are flowering well right now, but I am disappointed in the color. Aren't they supposed to be a darker pink? Mine are like a candy pink...much lighter than I thought they would be. Also, the foliage was burgundy when I planted it but soon turned all green. What are the flower and foliage colors like in your gardens? I planted five of them, and they are in the shade, except for in the late afternoon they do get a few hours of direct sun. These are mine in this pic. Could they have been mislabeled?
Thanks crazy & rcn...bases on your helpful advice, I'm thinking it's best to leave them where they are for now.
Sorry to hear about your redbud, rcn. Last summer's drought sure did put a lot of stress on our plants and trees.
Noreaster, my 'Key West' is just as you described, and not at all what I was expecting. I read on a site (have no idea which one, but not the one I purchased from!) that the new growth changes from burgundy to green as it matures.