Masterwort 'Roma'
Astrantia major 'Roma' · Apiaceae
Pincushion flowers of clear rose-pink, each framed by a ruff of papery bracts, on branching stems for many weeks of summer.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 7
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid June to early August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around masterwort 'Roma'
The planner designed this bed around masterwort 'Roma' 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 'Roma' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Masterwort 'Roma' × 3, pink
- 2 Green-and-gold × 13, yellow
- 3 Blue moor grass × 8, purple
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Blue wood aster × 5, lavender
- 6 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 7 Snowdrop × 12, white
- 8 Winter aconite × 5, yellow
Why this plant
- The only pink.
Why here
- At the back. At 24 in it stands ahead of garden phlox 'David' (3½ ft) without hiding it.
- A step in the back row. Next to garden phlox 'David' (3½ ft) and blue wood aster (3 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 9 weeks. From mid June to early August.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink, purple and lavender) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them. Garden phlox 'David' and blue wood aster anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where masterwort 'Roma' 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.
A sterile selection, so it flowers longer than other masterworts and does not seed. The small, intricate flowers reward a place near a path and last two weeks in a vase.
- Long-flowering colour in part shade
- Cutting and drying
- Cottage borders
What to plant with masterwort 'Roma'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for four weeks, from mid June; happy in the same moist soil.
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Japanese forest grass: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about masterwort 'Roma'
Does masterwort 'Roma' need sun or shade?
Masterwort 'Roma' 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 'Roma' 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 'Roma' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to mid August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid June to early August |
| Zone 6 | Mid June to early August |
| Zone 7 | Early June 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 masterwort 'Roma' 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 'Roma' 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 'Roma'?
Masterwort 'Roma' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late June to mid September, wants average soil.
- Wild geranium: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in shorter, flowers early May to late May.
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 'Roma'?
Masterwort 'Roma' 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, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Hosta 'Guacamole': from early August to late August, 24 in tall.
What does masterwort 'Roma' look like in winter?
Masterwort 'Roma' 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 'Hadspen Blood' Astrantia 'Hadspen Blood'
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 early August; dense clusters; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; 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
- Family
- Apiaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.