Astrantia

Astrantia is an herbaceous, perennial, clump-forming plant with pincushion flowers in summer. A great architectural plant for your garden.

Needing care and attention while they are establishing themselves in the garden but once established they are quite low maintenance. It is best to remove finished flower heads as these plants do not seed true. Astrantia have lovely umbels of starry flowers in a range of colours that are carried on stems above the foliage. Astrantias have many uses in the garden as border plants, in massed plantings, pots and containers and in woodland settings. They enjoy full sun or partial shade and moist, humus rich, well-drained soils. They can be propagated by plant division or growing seed. Astrantia make excellent cut flowers.

There is a wide variety of unusual and beautiful Astrantia cultivars including:

• Astrantia Roma. Striking deep pink flowers on tall stems rising from a mound of green foliage. Grows in well-drained soil in sun/partial shade. Flowers May-September. Grows to about 75 cm
• Astrantia Buckland A gorgeous plant with dusky pink flowers that bloom from May to July. Grows to 65 cm
• Astrantia Major. Flowers June-August. Grows to 30 cm and has interesting pinkish-green flowers
• Astrantia Hadspen Blood Deep red flowers are standouts in the garden from June to September. Grows to 60cm high
• Astrantia Major Rubra Wonderful green, pink and red tinged flowers.
• Astrantia Major Claret Very dark red flowers on dark stems makes a wonderful contrast plant in the garden. Flowers May-July and grows to 65 cm.
• Astrantia Maxima Large pale pink flowers. Grows to 90cm tall.
• Astrantia Sunningdale This plant is grown more for its exciting cream/green variegated foliage than its flowers. The foliage brings the spring garden to life. The flowers are greenish white with a tinge of pink. A lovely accent plant that grows to 60 cm.

Popular Astrantia major (masterwort) including Astrantia ma jor 'alba' plants for sale in the UK include Astrantia Major 'Giant White' is a tall growing cultivar reaching 90cm. Astrantia 'Moulin Rouge' is a dark red flowering cultivar. Astrantia prefer a shaded position and a humus rich soil. Astrantia major is probably the best known and with new hybrid species becoming available the colour range is from white to red.