Chinese astilbe 'Visions'
Astilbe chinensis 'Visions' ·
Dense, raspberry-purple plumes on a compact plant with bronze-green foliage. It stands sun and drier soil better than most astilbes.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Mid July to early August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Chinese astilbe 'Visions'
The planner designed this bed around Chinese astilbe 'Visions' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why Chinese astilbe 'Visions' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Chinese astilbe 'Visions' × 3, purple
- 2 Lingonberry × 9, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 13, blue
- 4 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 3, pink
- 5 Log fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 6 Bleeding heart × 1, white
- 7 Fawn lily 'White Beauty' × 7, white
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are bells, dense clusters and spires. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only purple.
Why here
- At the back. At 18 in it is seen over leadwort (10 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to turtlehead 'Hot Lips' (3 ft) and bleeding heart (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 mid July to early August.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. When the flowers are over, lingonberry keeps the bed from looking bare. The scheme leans cool (purple, pink and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. 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 Chinese astilbe 'Visions' goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Thick, upright plumes give a stronger block of colour than the airy hybrids, so three plants make a clear accent. The seed heads dry to a rich brown and are worth leaving.
- Strong colour for part shade
- The front to middle of a moist bed
- Containers
What to plant with Chinese astilbe 'Visions'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Lady fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Siberian bugloss 'Jack Frost': flowers first, late April to late May, so the spot is never empty; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Chinese astilbe 'Visions'
Does Chinese astilbe 'Visions' need sun or shade?
Chinese astilbe 'Visions' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Chinese astilbe 'Visions' 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 Chinese astilbe 'Visions' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid 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 mid August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid July to early August |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to early 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 Chinese astilbe 'Visions' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Chinese astilbe 'Visions' 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 Chinese astilbe 'Visions'?
Chinese astilbe 'Visions' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Fringed bleeding heart: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early May to late August, pink or white, not purple.
- Jacob's ladder 'Stairway to Heaven': the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, flowers early May to early June.
- Wild geranium 'Espresso': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early May to early June, pink, 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 Chinese astilbe 'Visions'?
Chinese astilbe 'Visions' is over by early August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Hosta 'Guacamole': from early August to late August, 24 in tall.
What does Chinese astilbe 'Visions' look like in winter?
Chinese astilbe 'Visions' 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 'Purple Candles' Astilbe chinensis 'Purpurkerze'
- Astilbe 'Sprite' Astilbe simplicifolia 'Sprite'
- Dwarf Chinese astilbe Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila'
- Tall astilbe 'Superba' Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii 'Superba'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid July to early August; feathery plumes; purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, 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.