Masterwort 'Hadspen Blood'
Astrantia 'Hadspen Blood' ·
Dark, blood-red pincushions with near-black bracts on wiry stems. From Hadspen House in Somerset, a garden famous for its use of colour.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 7
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid June to late July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around masterwort 'Hadspen Blood'
The planner designed this bed around masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' 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 masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' × 3, red
- 2 Green-and-gold × 11, yellow
- 3 Stemless gentian × 19, blue
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Northern sea oats 'River Mist' × 3, green
- 6 Purple gas plant × 1, pink
- 7 Snowdrop × 10, white
- 8 Spring snowflake × 5, white
Why this plant
- The only red.
Why here
- In the middle. At 24 in it is the step between green-and-gold (6 in) in front and northern sea oats 'River Mist' (2½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid June to late July.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (blue and pink) set against hot ones (red and yellow), with white and green to calm things between them. White is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 8 kinds grown for their flowers.
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 masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The dark flowers disappear against bare soil or dark leaves, so set it in front of lime green or silver. It needs moisture and resents hot nights.
- Dark accents in part shade
- Cutting
- Colour-themed borders
What to plant with masterwort 'Hadspen Blood'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lady's mantle: red against green, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for four weeks; happy in the same moist soil.
- Japanese forest grass 'Aureola': its chartreuse leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Siberian bugloss: flowers first, late April to late May, so the spot is never empty; bold leaves against its medium ones; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about masterwort 'Hadspen Blood'
Does masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' need sun or shade?
Masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' 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 masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' 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 masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid June to late July |
| Zone 6 | Mid June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Early June to mid 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 masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 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 masterwort 'Hadspen Blood'?
Masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Indian pink: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in shorter, flowers early June to early July.
- Coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late June to mid September, pink, not red.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after masterwort 'Hadspen Blood'?
Masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' is over by late July. 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, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall.
What does masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' look like in winter?
Masterwort 'Hadspen Blood' 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 Astrantia
- Masterwort Astrantia major
- Masterwort 'Roma' Astrantia major 'Roma'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid June to late July; dense clusters; red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, 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.