Here's a welcome change of pace for the shade garden: a low-maintenance, heavy-blooming Astilbe with warm-toned blooms of peachy coral, plus ferny foliage with bronze highlights among the green. If you're looking for an update to "plain old" white, pink, or red Astilbe, Peach Blossom is the ideal choice.These plumes are densely packed with feathery blooms combining apricot, peach, coral, and pink tones. They are 6 inches wide at the base and tapering to a point, creating a lovely punctuation mark for the fully to partly shaded garden. They make superb dried arrangements, too, so you can keep the unusual color all winter!
The foliage is interesting on Peach Blossom, too. It is dark green most of the season, but sports occasional bronze tones that offer nice contrast to the green of the shade garden. Ferny and finely-cut, it keeps this Astilbe lovely even out of bloom.
Peach Blossom flowers heavily in early summer, especially if watered well. It's quite adaptable to varying garden conditions, and is nearly maintenance free. Deer avoid nibbling on this plant, making it a fine choice for gardens plagued by midnight feasts from unwanted critters. Peach Blossom reaches 2 feet tall and anywhere from 1 to 2 feet wide.
Space plants about 18 inches apart in any moist, enriched garden soil, and keep them well watered, especially during the growth and flowering seasons. Zones 4-9.
