Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume'
Astilbe thunbergii 'Straussenfeder' ·
Long, drooping plumes of salmon-pink hang like the feathers they are named for, from tall stems in midsummer.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early July to early August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around astilbe 'Ostrich Plume'
The planner designed this bed around astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' 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 'Ostrich Plume' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' × 3, pink
- 2 Green-and-gold × 19, yellow
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 9, red
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Creeping Jacob's ladder × 5, blue
- 7 Camassia × 3, white
- 8 Checkered lily × 12, purple
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are daisies, airy sprays, bells and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to camassia (2½ 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 early July to early August.
- In company. With coral bells 'Firefly' and brown-eyed Susan in late July: 3 kinds at once.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering is at its height in late May, with 4 kinds out together. Hot and cool in equal measure: yellow and red against pink, blue and purple, with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The weeping habit sets it apart from every upright astilbe and looks right beside water. Give it room for the plumes to arch.
- Beside ponds and streams
- A graceful accent in moist shade
- Woodland gardens
What to plant with astilbe 'Ostrich Plume'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Royal fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (5 ft) to stand behind it.
- Japanese iris: in flower together for two weeks, from early July.
- Rodgersia: in flower together for three weeks, from early July; bold leaves against its medium ones; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about astilbe 'Ostrich Plume'
Does astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' need sun or shade?
Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' 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 wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' 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 'Ostrich Plume' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid July to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 8 | Late June to late 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 'Ostrich Plume' be planted?
20 in (50 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 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 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 there a native plant like astilbe 'Ostrich Plume'?
Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Bee balm 'Purple Rooster': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; purple, not pink.
- Garden phlox 'Bright Eyes': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid July to late August.
- Joe-Pye weed 'Baby Joe': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late July to mid September.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after astilbe 'Ostrich Plume'?
Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' is over by early August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm': from late July to late September, 2 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' look like in winter?
Astilbe 'Ostrich Plume' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Astilbe
- Astilbe Astilbe x arendsii
- Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' Astilbe x arendsii 'Bridal Veil'
- Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun' Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun'
- Astilbe 'Deutschland' Astilbe japonica 'Deutschland'
- Astilbe 'Fanal' Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal'
- 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
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early July to early August; feathery plumes; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.