I planted 3 Astilbe roots and won`t see anything till next spring likely, and my established one is coming back! Yay!
Being impatient and in love with Astilbes I bought a good sized one today, and what fun!, it does not say what color
it is so I will have a surprise! My established one coming up is pink and the 3 I planted are red....I love surprises!
(the picture is from last spring, since then it has been planted, just wanted to show it off here!

nice! we have about a dozen Astilbe's in our shade areas. everyone of them comes back no problems, but the ones against the house are slug magnets. we finally dug them up and put them in a big pot. doing much better!

Ahh, I had no idea Astilbe was a slug magnet, I have not been spraying them when I sprayed the hostas.

We have lots of astilbe in all situations from shade to part shade to full hot sun, and while we have slugs around clematis and hosta, the slugs have never attacked the astilbes.

maybe it wasn't slugs getting to mine then...? we had a patch of four astilbes right against the house, and everyday there was major damage to them, so we assumed the slugs were coming out from under the house at night...? perhaps it was something else...? either way, we moved them into pots and placed them on the deck. where they can be watched a little more closely. doing much better!

Linda - are yours of the fragrant variety?

Could it have been earwigs? Even the earwigs prefer clematis and daylilies to astilbe.

riverman123 said:maybe it wasn't slugs getting to mine then...? we had a patch of four astilbes right against the house, and everyday there was major damage to them, so we assumed the slugs were coming out from under the house at night...? perhaps it was something else...? either way, we moved them into pots and placed them on the deck. where they can be watched a little more closely. doing much better!

Linda - are yours of the fragrant variety?

Not sure, as I never knew they could be fragrant, when they bloom I`ll have to take a sniff, unless you just smell them in the air
like Lilacs, if that is the case then likely not the fragrant type.

How about these beetles eating the astilbe plants?
http://nativeplantwildlifegard...
http://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/vie...

Wow - have never heard of pests eating Astilbe. I've grown them for many years. Sure would like to know what you all come up with.
I grow 'Peach Blossom' which is very fragrant to me. Heavenly. Kinda sad when they're done blooming.

At first those Asiatic beetles look like June bugs but way too small. Is it a regional thing?

riverman123 said:nice! we have about a dozen Astilbe's in our shade areas. everyone of them comes back no problems, but the ones against the house are slug magnets. we finally dug them up and put them in a big pot. doing much better!

How nice to have so many! These are in my top favorite plants.

I would love to see pictures of everyone's Astilbes!

Cindy - no need to fret when they stop blooming. They adapt easily to spray paint!

Pirl - I remember seeing that photo elsewhere. Now if only I could find a spray-on scent...

Take your choice from any product in the scents offered by supermarkets. Maybe you could use up your old colognes on them!

Believe it or not, I don't use cologne or perfume. Dr. Bonner's soaps and various lotions and hand cream is enough.

Those sprays made for kitchens and bathrooms might fit the bill.

Don't use those either. Maybe scented candles but that's about it.

Wait......Pirl......people spray paint their Astilbes???

I have Neon Green and Neon Pink sprays ready in case the heat "cooks" the astilbe as it has done in the past.