When to plant astilbes?
- Botanical name
- Astilbe
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
Astilbes are planted from September to October. They flower from July to October.
Astilbes are perennial plants.
Astilbe needs soil that never dries out. A damp part of the garden or the edge of a pond suits it. In full sun the leaves scorch in midsummer once the soil runs dry. Through the first summer after planting it is watered several times a week.
Astilbe has no bulb, so it is planted shallow enough for the crown to stay level with the soil. In autumn the soil is still warm and the summer heat is over, and the roots take hold before winter. The top growth dies back over winter, and the dried plumes can be left standing.
Garden astilbes are hybrids and seedlings differ from the mother plant, so the same variety comes only from division.
Astilbes through the year
- planting
- flowering
In short
Growing conditions
Are astilbes toxic to cats and dogs?
No. Astilbes are not toxic to cats and dogs.
Pests and diseases
Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.
- Signs
- The half round notches along the leaf edges in summer are the work of the adult beetles and do the plant little harm. The larvae are the danger: white grubs with a brown head eat the roots, the plant suddenly drops its leaves and dies, most often between autumn and spring.
- Prevention
- Most at risk are plants in pots and troughs. In a bed the damage is rarer. At repotting check the roots and the compost and pick the larvae out. You find the adult beetles in the evening with a light, when they crawl over the plants.
- What to do
- Pick the adults off in the evening, set sticky traps indoors and change the compost, removing the larvae as you go. There is no insecticide. As biological protection, water beneficial nematodes into the compost at the end of summer, while the larvae are still small.
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Sources about the plant: Clemson Cooperative Extension, GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Minnesota Poison Control System, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Royal Horticultural Society, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 28 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: University of Illinois Extension.