Dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome'
Filipendula 'Kahome' ·
A miniature meadowsweet: fluffy, rose-pink plumes over a low clump of glossy, deeply cut, fern-like leaves.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 14 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late June to early August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome'
The planner designed this bed around dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' 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 dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' × 10, pink
- 2 Green-and-gold × 16, yellow
- 3 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 3, pink
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' × 1, grey-green leaves
- 6 Blue-eyed grass × 8, blue
- 7 Double snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are daisies, spires, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 68% of the edge.
- 10 plants in 3 runs (5, 3 and 2). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late June to early August.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
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 53% of the visual weight and the right half 47%. Dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' and green-and-gold finish the front edge.
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 dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It does the work of a dwarf astilbe and stands more heat, provided the soil stays damp. Good at the front of a moist bed or the edge of a small pond.
- The front of a moist, shady bed
- Small pond margins
- Edging
What to plant with dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese primrose: flowers first, mid May to late June, so the spot is never empty; bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome'
Does dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' need sun or shade?
Dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' 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 dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Early July to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 5 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 6 | Late June 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 dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 14 in (35 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 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 10 in three groups.
Is there a native plant like dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome'?
Dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Woodland phlox: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late April to late May, blue, lavender or white, not pink.
- Creeping Jacob's ladder: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late April to late May, blue, not pink.
- Water avens: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in taller, flowers early May to late June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome'?
Dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' 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 dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' look like in winter?
Dwarf meadowsweet 'Kahome' 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 Filipendula
- Double dropwort Filipendula vulgaris 'Multiplex'
- Japanese meadowsweet Filipendula purpurea
- Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria
- Queen of the prairie Filipendula rubra 'Venusta'
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 14 in (35 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to early August; feathery plumes; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- 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.