Cultivar name: 'Purpurkerze'
A Chinese Astilbe with enormous blooms and superior tolerance of summer sun and dry spells, Purple Candle is ideal for gardeners in hot, arid climates where others suffer. It is late-blooming, with a brilliant red-influenced purple flower color that matures to rich lavender. We highly recommend it for dependable, over-the-top performance summer after summer.
Dense and well-branched, this plant reaches just 2 feet high when not in bloom, and spreads slowly by rhizomes so that its original 18- to 24-inch width will increase over time. The blooms add another 2 feet of height, appearing on very sturdy, abundant stems that open gradually from the base. They make superb cutflowers, but look so stunning in the sunny to partly shaded garden that many of us cannot bear to bring them indoors. The bees and butterflies rely on them as well, flocking to Purple Candle all summer long!
The bloom season is in early and midsummer, several weeks later than most A. arendsii hybrids. The flowers emerge a dark red-toned shade of purple, somewhere between maroon and burgundy, perhaps, then lighten to lavender over their long season. You will enjoy the sight of a late-season plant with older and newer blooms together, their shades contrasting nicely.
Purple Candle flourishes best in moist, organically rich soil. Once established in your garden it will tolerate a good bit of adversity, but its most enthusiastic spreading and flowering is always in good garden soil. Enjoy its generous flower show and long-lived presence in the border or meadow garden! Zones 4-9.
