Lavender mist meadow rue
Thalictrum rochebruneanum ·
Tall, slender, purple stems carry a mist of tiny lavender flowers with yellow stamens well above head height in late summer, over lacy, blue-green leaves.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 7
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid July to late August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around lavender mist meadow rue
The planner designed this bed around lavender mist meadow rue 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 lavender mist meadow rue stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Lavender mist meadow rue × 3, lavender
- 2 Sedge 'Bunny Blue' × 8, blue-green leaves
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 19, yellow
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Gas plant × 1, pink
- 6 Northern sea oats 'River Mist' × 3, green
- 7 Snowdrop × 5, white
Why this plant
- The only fine leaves here. The rest are medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- The only lavender.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 ft it is the tallest plant 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 northern sea oats 'River Mist' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one clump. A single spire is too slight to hold a place alone, so here the accent is a clump.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid July to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With garden phlox 'David' and northern sea oats 'River Mist' in late July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 6 groups (67%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering is at its height from late July, with 3 kinds out together. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' is the plant there is most of: 19 of the 42.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 4 Good, 2 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 lavender mist meadow rue goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: weaver. A light, airy plant threaded singly between sturdier ones to knit the planting together.
It reaches two metres and you can still see straight through it, so it need not go at the back. It needs shelter from wind and soil that never dries out.
- A tall, transparent veil
- Height in part shade
- Moist woodland edges
What to plant with lavender mist meadow rue
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese anemone: in flower together for two weeks, from mid August; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Bugbane 'Brunette': takes over when it finishes, flowering from early September; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about lavender mist meadow rue
Does lavender mist meadow rue need sun or shade?
Lavender mist meadow rue 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 a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does lavender mist meadow rue grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 7. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 7 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 lavender mist meadow rue flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to late 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 late August |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to late August |
| Zone 7 | Early July to mid 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 lavender mist meadow rue be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many lavender mist meadow rue plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, threaded between sturdier plants.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like lavender mist meadow rue?
Lavender mist meadow rue is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Culver's root 'Fascination': the same flowering time and the same colour; an accent, not a weaver, 12 in shorter.
- Tall larkspur: the same flowering time; an accent, not a weaver, 12 in shorter.
- Garden phlox 'Jeana': a drift, not a weaver, 24 in shorter.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after lavender mist meadow rue?
Lavender mist meadow rue is over by late 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, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Bugbane 'Brunette': from early September to early October, 5 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Canadian burnet: from mid August to early October, 5 ft tall.
What does lavender mist meadow rue look like in winter?
Lavender mist meadow rue 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 Thalictrum
- Chinese meadow rue 'Hewitt's Double' Thalictrum delavayi 'Hewitt's Double'
- Columbine meadow rue Thalictrum aquilegiifolium
- Meadow rue 'Black Stockings' Thalictrum 'Black Stockings'
- Rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides
- Yellow meadow rue Thalictrum flavum subsp. glaucum
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Mid July to late August; airy sprays; lavender
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 7
- Light
- Part sun, part 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.