To keep astilbe healthy and protected for winter, mulch around plants in the fall with a two-inch layer of organic matter.

Dwarf astilbes, which aren't much more than 12 inches tall, make great border plants. Other sizes are at least 24 inches tall, all the way up to three or four feet. By choosing different cultivars you ...

Q: I have two astilbe plants which have been in my garden for about four years. They are about 20 inches tall and have given me pretty plumes. The spikes are now brown and the foliage is turning color ...

Q. For the past two years my astilbe plants have had plenty of leaves and have also produced tall flower stems. These stems have many buds on them but they don’t open. The buds look brown all spring ...

Q. Do astilbes do well in our area? I was thinking about planting some is a woodland garden setting. A. Astilbes or false spirea is a flowering perennial with fern-like foliage and feathery plumed ...

Most perennials prefer to be planted in spring or autumn, when the weather is cool and rainfall is abundant. But some drought- and heat-tolerant plants can be planted in midsummer too if you keep them ...