Astilbe 'Purple Candles'
Astilbe chinensis 'Purpurkerze' ·
Tall, narrow, stiff plumes of rich purple-red stand like candles in late summer, well above coarse, dark leaves.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around astilbe 'Purple Candles'
The planner designed this bed around astilbe 'Purple Candles' 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 'Purple Candles' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 3, purple
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 11, yellow
- 3 Creeping phlox × 5, pink
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Scarlet coral bells × 8, red
- 7 Snow crocus × 12, white
- 8 Red spider lily × 3, red
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are daisies, dense clusters, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only purple.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is among the tallest 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 inkberry 'Gem Box' (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 six weeks. From mid July to mid August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With brown-eyed Susan and scarlet coral bells in late July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 48% of the visual weight and the right half 52%. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, in late July.
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 'Purple Candles' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A Chinese astilbe, so it flowers late and tolerates more sun and drier soil than the others. The upright plumes make a strong vertical in a moist border.
- Late plumes for a moist border
- A vertical accent in part shade
- Astilbe for sunnier sites
What to plant with astilbe 'Purple Candles'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese anemone: happy in the same moist soil.
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe': in flower together for four weeks, from late July; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Tufted hair grass: in flower together for six weeks, from mid July; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about astilbe 'Purple Candles'
Does astilbe 'Purple Candles' need sun or shade?
Astilbe 'Purple Candles' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), 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 a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does astilbe 'Purple Candles' 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 'Purple Candles' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to mid August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid July to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid July to mid August |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to mid August |
| Zone 7 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 8 | Early July to early August |
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 'Purple Candles' 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 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many astilbe 'Purple Candles' 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 there a native plant like astilbe 'Purple Candles'?
Astilbe 'Purple Candles' 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, the same flowering time and the same colour; medium leaves, not fine.
- Garden phlox 'Laura': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 8 in shorter, flowers mid July to early September.
- Anise hyssop: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early July to early September, lavender, not purple.
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 'Purple Candles'?
Astilbe 'Purple Candles' is over by mid 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 (a recorded partner).
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does astilbe 'Purple Candles' look like in winter?
Astilbe 'Purple Candles' 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 'Ostrich Plume' Astilbe thunbergii 'Straussenfeder'
- 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
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid August; feathery plumes; purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- 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.