Astilbe 'Bridal Veil'
Astilbe x arendsii 'Bridal Veil' · Saxifragaceae
Loose, arching plumes open pure white and age to cream, above glossy, deep green foliage.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late June to mid July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around astilbe 'Bridal Veil'
The planner designed this bed around astilbe 'Bridal Veil' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why astilbe 'Bridal Veil' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' × 3, white
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 24, yellow
- 3 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 5, pink
- 4 Northern sea oats × 5, tan
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Tiger lily × 3, orange
- 7 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are daisies, spires, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over globe arborvitae 'Danica' (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to northern sea oats (3½ ft) and tiger lily (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late June to mid July.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Hot and cool in equal measure: yellow and orange against pink and blue, with white and tan to calm things between them. The back corners are held by northern sea oats and tiger lily, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Tiger lily is highly poisonous to cats. Northern sea oats spreads aggressively.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where astilbe 'Bridal Veil' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
White plumes light up a shady corner as nothing else does in June. The spent heads turn russet and stand through winter, so do not cut them down in autumn.
- White for shade
- Moist borders and pond sides
- Winter seed heads
What to plant with astilbe 'Bridal Veil'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta 'Blue Angel': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Lady fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Ligularia 'The Rocket': in flower together for three weeks, from early July; bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about astilbe 'Bridal Veil'
Does astilbe 'Bridal Veil' need sun or shade?
Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does astilbe 'Bridal Veil' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does astilbe 'Bridal Veil' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should astilbe 'Bridal Veil' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many astilbe 'Bridal Veil' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is astilbe 'Bridal Veil' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat astilbe 'Bridal Veil'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after astilbe 'Bridal Veil'?
Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
What does astilbe 'Bridal Veil' look like in winter?
Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is astilbe 'Bridal Veil' good for bees and butterflies?
Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' is visited by butterflies.
More Astilbe
- Astilbe Astilbe x arendsii
- Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun' Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun'
- Astilbe 'Deutschland' Astilbe japonica 'Deutschland'
- Astilbe 'Fanal' Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal'
- Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' Astilbe thunbergii 'Straussenfeder'
- Astilbe 'Purple Candles' Astilbe chinensis 'Purpurkerze'
- Astilbe 'Sprite' Astilbe simplicifolia 'Sprite'
- Chinese astilbe 'Visions' Astilbe chinensis 'Visions'
- Dwarf Chinese astilbe Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila'
- Tall astilbe 'Superba' Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii 'Superba'
In these guides
- Plants for deep shade
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Plants for butterflies
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to mid July; feathery plumes; white, cream
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
- Comes from
- Asia, hybrid origin
- Attracts
- Butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, wet soil, deep shade, black walnut
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.