Brrr, campers, it’s COLD out there! While some of us are dreaming about sugarplums, or wondering what they are, others are planning their spring garden. One very hardy plant, more than four feet tall, has beautiful leaves like a maidenhair fern which tower over the typical (bred squat) perennials. Getting close? How about its flowering in pink or white like a galaxy of stars? If you are guessing Meadow Rue (Thalictrum), you are right on target. The ferny foliage is an excellent counterpoint to the bold leaves of sun-tolerant Hosta, Bergenia, Brunnera and Heuchera and the mass of flowers at eye-level is refreshing, like sparks from a fireworks fountain. Pollinators go bonkers over the richly endowed blooms held on strong, stiff stems.
The problem with this plant in the past is that the seed-grown varieties of Thalictrum aquilegifolium had few stems, were too tall (falling over without support), mildew sensitivity, and produced only a few stems. Terra Nova to the rescue! From hundreds of seedlings over a number of years, plants were selected for multiple stems, mildew-resistance, and a bit more compact. A few purple-stemmed seedlings were bred into the masses to produce a lovely contrast of icy-white flowers and plum-purple stems. People were fed up (oooh! a pun), with the plethora of plants I have named after foods, so I turned to another passion and named our four-foot tall dark-stemmed beauty, Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings,’ which is still a great seller. Over the years we introduced ‘Nimbus White’ and ‘Nimbus Pink’ – a bit shorter but with more stems and a fuller habit. Let’s explore these meadow-rues.
Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’
This tall beauty has long, nearly black stems, contrasting bright-green, ferny leaves and is topped by fluffy lavender pink flowers in large flat – topped corymbs in July and August. Very showy for the back of the border. Needs to be vernalized to bloom. It’s happy in full sun or partial shade, with morning sun being an ideal location. Hardy in USDA Zones five to nine. This form is shrubbier than the straight species. It grows up to fifty-eight inches tall by forty-eight inches wide. A feast for the pollinators! Placed in the back border it provides a ferny foil for bold-leaved plants like Brunnera or Bergenia.
White, cloud-like masses of flowers over dark stems and fern-like leaves. It has an excellent, compact habit with multiple stems giving multiple, huge inflorescences. The white flowers turn into lavender pink seed heads extending the showy season. Blooms the first year but grows much better after a winter chill. The white flowers rise to twenty-eight inches high on an upright but handsome habit, twenty-eight inches wide by twenty-eight inches tall. Bloomtime is May through July. Hardy in USDA Zones five to nine. Try mixing with Heuchera or Bergenia in garden beds. Excellent in a full sun or partially shady border or for container use, though you don’t want to dry the root ball entirely.
This perfect match in the NIMBUS™ series has lavender pink flowers in massive puffs at the top of the foliage. The striking dark stems and lovely fern-like green leaves are showy even before they bloom. The great crown count gives this form an advantage; it grows to be a fuller, bigger plant than the species. Blooms the first year in sun or partial shade but perform much better after a winter chill. Bloomtime is May through July. The white flowers rise to twenty-eight inches high on an upright but handsome habit, twenty-eight inches wide by twenty-eight inches tall. Hardy in USDA Zones five to nine.
Dan Heims is an award-winning horticultural author who lectures throughout the world. He was honored by The American Horticultural Society with the Luther Burbank Breeding Award, as well as the Perennial Plant Association’s Award of Merit. He was also honored in receiving the Royal Horticultural Society’s Reginald Cory Cup for advancements in breeding. You may contact Dan at [email protected] Questions on culture and care or availability for a speaking engagement can be found at this email.
Philodendron are fabulous house plants. And there are a wide range of these plants from tried-and-true varieties to exciting new selections you may not have heard of yet. click here. for a great article from our friend Justin who writes about several of his favorites.
Click here to sign up for our monthly NEWSLETTER packed with great articles and helpful tips for your home, garden and pets!
