Blue Star amsonia is on my list. Thanks Rosie.

I can collect seeds for you this autumn but if you get in a pot..they will bloom quicker! Or you can do both

Thanks Rosie, I do best with plants. These are perennials ?

Yes..very old fashioned appearing...and in the fall is the nice surprise...
FYI the wider leaf..those tend to self seed freely..and they do not turn that brilliant puffy hot bronze..but the flower is as attractive -- not as airy tho

Thanks for the wider leaf tip. I will try to avoid.

First three wide...
Last two...thin



And if you blow the photo with the dragonflies and girl up...you will see a clump wide in majority behind the statue...but in lower right corner of clump and photo..the thin.. I must have dropped a seed and it grew unnoticed.

Height of thin..3 feet by 3 every year from the ground

Opps apology ..this question about astilbe. Will shut up about these.

Our two astilbe..don't have much luck with those..that are hidden under a japanese maple with epimedium are doing well.. The ones out in the open..crisp up too fast.

I would like to get back to the Astilbes. In my zone and partial shade they seem nearly impossible to kill. And I admire the flowers (I have cone types myself). They tolerate dividing and moving. I have some that get covered over with wide-ranging Baptista each year. I keep intending to move them a few feet away (and put cages around the Baptista), but I never get around to it.

Meanwhile, a dozen other Astilbes just keep surviving all around an abandoned 8' pond (I really have to reline and rebuild that) yearly without watering.

You have to admire a plant like that!

I will say that my Astilbes are pretty carefree except for this past summer. Combination of heat and lack of rain really bothered them this year but I know they'll be back in good shape in the spring. My true die-hards are Epimediums.

I planted 25 bare-root Astilbe crowns last week, hoping that the warm temperatures and improved soil will help them grow. We'll see. If they grow, I will show pictures. If not, I will plant annuals. LOL!

If my 3 survived the winter, I am moving them to the north (shadier) side.

UrbanWild said:If my 3 survived the winter, I am moving them to the north (shadier) side.

Shade isn't my problem here, sadly. I get more than enough of it. According to my sunlight, I should only grow hostas, impatiens, caladiums, coleus, etc. But I manage some flowers with good soil and compost...

It isn't easy and I cherish every bloom I get.

Astilbes won't let you down. They love compost.