14 Gorgeous Astilbes To Plant In Your Shade Garden This Spring, Recommended By Our Professional Gardener

Astilbes are wonderful perennial plants that are easy to grow and care for. They thrive in shady spots of the garden, and many varieties can also tolerate sunny spots. Their fluffy flower plumes provide lovely color for several weeks from late spring through late summer, depending on the cultivar. In my work as a professional gardener, I often recommend astilbes to clients who want low-maintenance, flowering shade perennials. There's a huge variety of astilbes, but here's an assortment of my favorites, just in time for spring planting.

The botanical name Astilbe × arendsii refers to a group of cultivars named for German horticulturist George Arends. In 1933 alone, Arends introduced 74 wonderful astilbe hybrids, crossing other varieties including A. chinensis, A. japonica, A. thunbergii, and A. astilboides. Because he crossed so many different types, the range of size, shape, color, and bloom timing is very diverse in these hybrids, with more being created each year by contemporary plant breeders. 

Many nurseries offer a big selection of these popular perennials in spring, which is the best time to plant them. Once they're established, astilbes should be divided every two to three years to promote more vigorous blooms. Divide them in early spring or in autumn, just as the dormant season is starting. These plants are hardy in USDA Zones 3-9,  but a light layer of mulch can help ensure your astilbes survive harsh winters by protecting their roots. They need a good, well-draining, slightly acidic soil that is rich in organic matter. They also need regular watering, but they won't thrive in a spot that is constantly wet. These shade lovers look great alongside hostas or in a partly sunny border with heucheras. 

The 'Granat' astilbe has large, spiky plumes of a warm carmine red color, and the lacy green leaves are touched with bronze tones. This plant is fairly compact, growing between 20 and 24 inches tall. It starts blooming in early summer, so give it a place of prominence among your hostas, or alongside heucheras with green or red foliage, like 'Dale's Strain,' 'Green Spice,' 'Georgia Peach,' or 'Berry Smoothie.'

The sparkling purple flowers of 'Purple Rain' light up the shady bed with a range of pink and lavender tones. This one is a vigorous bloomer, starting in midsummer, and like all astilbes, it attracts plenty of butterflies and other beneficial pollinators to the shady parts of the garden. It's fairly compact, growing up to 22 inches tall, and usually blooms all through July and sometimes into August.

This pale pink stunner is one of the first astilbes to bloom in late spring. The densely packed flowers create fluffy plumes that last for weeks. 'Europa' is a nice compact size (18 to 24 inches) and can really light up a dark corner of the garden with its glowing pink blooms on pale red stems. This small but mighty award winner is a must-have for the astilbe lover.

I love hot pink in the garden: it shows up so beautifully with all shades of green foliage. 'Vision in Pink' is a gorgeous astilbe that glows with a hot pink color. It's a medium-sized astilbe, growing between 24 and 30 inches tall, and starts putting on its vivid flower show in early summer. The bright pink hues of this astilbe look particularly nice with mid-sized blue-toned hostas like 'Halcyon,' 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd,' or 'Bressingham Blue.'

White astilbes can be a great choice for a woodland garden: the flowers help light up dark, shady spots. They also look great in summer amidst your variegated hostas. The full white plumes of 'White Gloria' (also known as 'Gloria Weisse') appear in June and flower for weeks through July, starting creamy white and maturing to a brighter white. This is a nice mid-size astilbe, with the flower spikes growing between 24 and 28 inches tall.

The 'Sprite' astilbe is one of the smaller varieties, and it's considered a dwarf astilbe. Its average height is between 12 and 15 inches, making it a good size for tucking into the front of the border or pairing with taller astilbes for a range of texture and shapes. The pale pink flowers of 'Sprite' are delicate and almost ethereal-looking, true to their fairy-like name. Plant this compact astilbe in the front of the shade bed for a pretty show of color in early summer.

The 'Red Fanal' astilbe is a tried and true red variety and prefers partial to full shade. It's a medium-sized variety, growing between 18 and 24 inches tall, with bright ruby red flowers and deep green foliage on string stems, making this a great cut flower for arrangements. This is a midseason bloomer: flowers start appearing in early to mid-June and keep going through much of July.

The 'Ostrich Plume' astilbe is sought after for its unique tendency to produce fluffy plumes that have a gently curved, arching shape instead of standing straight up like most astilbes. The flowers are a rich medium pink, sometimes with a peachy tone. It grows about 30 inches tall, and the flowers start appearing in midsummer. This one deserves a prominent spot in the garden for its iconic form and long-lasting color.

This astilbe is popular for its large, fluffy plumes of shimmering light purple, with a hint of pink. 'Amethyst' is a medium-tall, stately plant (up to 28 inches tall) and is a vigorous grower that likes dividing every couple of years. The sturdy, densely packed flower stalks are excellent for adding vivid color to cut flower arrangements. It starts blooming in early July and continues into August.

With its red stems and compact but dense flower plumes of pastel pink with a hint of peach, 'Sister Theresa' is a very desirable addition to the astilbe garden. The rich green leaves form a nice, full clump up to 16 inches tall, with the flowers rising just a few inches above, up to 24 inches. This one starts blooming in early summer, and it performs best in a spot with partial or dappled shade.

This was the first red astilbe I ever planted, and the plants are still going strong in my garden. The flowers arrive in late spring, starting dark red in bud, opening to a sparkling ruby color. It's a medium-sized plant (up to 24 inches tall), and the dark red stems have an elegant, well-defined shape, making this a graceful, somewhat delicate-looking red astilbe. It's a gorgeous accent next to my miniature blue hostas and 'Georgia Peach' heuchera with leaves of rust orange, plum, and burgundy.

This one is a newer offering in the 'Younique' series, a line of compact astilbe cultivars (16 to 20 inches tall) that come in a range of lovely colors, perfect for the front of the shade garden. 'Younique Silvery Pink' is well named: the shimmering pale pink flowers, touched with cool lavender, look very soft yet striking. This plant would look great alongside blue-toned hostas like 'Mouse Ears' or 'Blue Angel' or us it to add cool pastel tones to a partly sunny spot near yellow or orange midsummer flowers like yarrow ('Apricot Delight' or 'Moonshine') or coreopsis ('Creme Caramel' or 'Moonbeam').

The 'Ellie' astilbe has fluffy, creamy white flower plumes that start blooming in late spring. It has deep green foliage with a touch of bronze and grows fairly tall, 26 to 30 inches. Some white astilbes fade to a brown color, prompting gardeners to deadhead them early, but on 'Ellie' the flowers fade to a pale green, making this a nice plant to keep intact through fall.

There are a number of astilbe varieties with dark foliage, often referred to as "bronze" in color. 'Dark Side of the Moon' is a newer cultivar with attractive purple-tinged foliage and spiky plumes of bright lavender pink. This variety also starts blooming a bit later than many, with flowers from midsummer into early fall. This astilbe can handle some sun, and since it's only medium height (20 to 22 inches), you can place it at or near the front of the bed to show off its vibrant colors.

I first purchased a 'Maggie Daley' astilbe from a plant seller on eBay years ago, and it was one of my favorite plant purchases from the website (believe me, they don't always turn out so well!). It's a strong grower, very tall at up to 36 inches, with bright green leaves and hefty plumes loaded with rosy pink flowers. This is probably my favorite astilbe for its vigor, fullness, and brilliant color. It's very hardy and somewhat more drought tolerant than other astilbes I've grown.