Astilbe Chocolate Shogun PP 26430 Spring ephemerals very slow-growing

very slow-growing

one of the finest additions to the fall garden

(aka: Typhonium giganteum) Sauromatum giganteum is a little-known Chinese (Tibet to Manchuria) hardy aroid that is a must for collectors of the weird and wonderful

The peculiar clumps are topped in late June with 18" spikes of light lavender hummingbird flowers

Alongside the foliage emerge 15" tall flowering stalks topped with a single white hood

Astilbe Chocolate Shogun PP 26430 Spring ephemerals very slow-growingWe were so excited, we almost wet our plants when we first saw Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun' but, was the color really that good, and would it live for us? The answer to both is a resounding yes. Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun' is a creation from Japanese plant breeder, Nagasaki Teruhisa, who selected it from a seed batch of Astilbe thunbergii. The 3' tall x 2' wide deciduous clump is clothed with dark purple, foliage, and topped in spring with blush pink