I HAVE COMPLAINED RECENTLY about plants I’ve had forever that I wish would simply go away. A counterpoint: Thalictrum rochebrunianum, a towering meadow rue, has been here more than 20 years, too, and I sincerely hope it never departs my company.
This old-friend thalictrum is a Japanese native, but there are American species, too, such as the charming little rue anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides, with white blooms in spring near the woodland floor.
My summertime companion, though, produces lavish lavender 3-foot-wide sprays of tiny flowers, each with showy yellow stamens, on 10-foot stems that are painted appropriately purple (below) and dressed up with delicate, blue-green foliage that remind me of columbine. No wonder, since they are cousins in the Ranunculaceae, or buttercup family, as are delphiniums and clematis and Aconitum, among other beauties. A note about the height of my stalwart of a giant plant: All the references say it gets to 6 or 7 feet when blooming, but I took a tape measure into the garden: 10.
I keep reading that Thalictrum rochebrunianum is best massed, but on that point I heartily agree with Annie of Annie’s Annuals, who says:
“Ideal for rising above Roses and shorter subjects. Some say it’s best massed but my single plantings never fail to impress.”
Hey, my couple of plants—jutting up and looming above a winter-hazel shrub, Corylopsis spicata, that has been with me just as long–even looked good this year, when violent storms turned the stalks from decidedly vertical to horizontal (as in the photos). Bees adore it for its many weeks of bloom, and it even matches a pair of garden chairs (you can see one of them in the background, all blurry).
Easy, in sun or light shade, and hardy from Zone 4 or 5 to about Zone 9. Better still: Deer don’t eat it.
I planted 2 thalictrum about 4 years ago, not really knowing what they were. I had just started gardening and I loved their look. I would love to have more. Any tips on how do I get them to reproduce.
Hi Margaret
I live in Brooklyn where houses are connected to each other, and I have a small back yard. At the back of the yard is a brick wall that runs about 3 feet deep and the top serves as a planter. The wall is about 4′ high, with a stair running in the middle, to the next yard which is above my property. My question is this – do you have any recommendations for plants against the base of the brick wall? I always feel that something should be there, but haven’t yet figured out what. The area is quite shady. I don’t want something that would be too deep as it is close to the space where I place a hammock.
Thanks for your input.
Barbara
Thank you for your plant recommendation, I can’t wait to try it. In your garden can Thalictrum rochebrunianum take very deep shade, or does it prefer at least a bit of sun?
Hi, Sara. I have never done it, but have read that spring division is possible. New plants can of course also be started from seed.
Deer might not eat it, but my goose ate the one I had nurtured for 3 years in a pot!!
I have this lovely, and had even more pleasure last year when I had to cut it down when the buds were compromised (looked like thrips but not sure). Anyway, despite the late cut, it set new buds and bloomed lower (no flopping) and longer (for weeks). Good came out of bad.
My good friend just dug some out of her garden and gave them to me! They dried out, but i planted them anyway, as she says they will be fine and surprise me next year, tough they are. One that was very tall but battered has been blooming for about two weeks…love them.
Oh, it is beautiful! Have to track this down! It looks like it could be also used towards the front of the boarder because it is wispy. Would that be a mistake?
No, TerryK, you could do that — it’s not very big at the base, really, but more about vertical.
Hi Margaret,
I was wondering what other vibrant bloomers will do well in light shade to shade? I love shade plants but am looking to have brighter garden under some trees that will be viewed from a distance.
Hi, Abigail. I enjoy the colorful early look of hellebores and then Hylomecon and trilliums and many other shade plants. What about Uvularia? You can see them all in the colorful spring perennial slideshow.
I couldn’t begin to do justice to the wonders of Thalictrm with words. Mine self-seed (I’m willing to share if anyone is interested), and have volunteered to provide a lacy screen through which to view my garden from the deck. I use them as foreground, background, middle ground. The first year they almost look like ground cover; the second, they get about 1 foot tall; the third, they shoot up to 8-10 feet and are covered with cloudy halos of pale purple blooms. I agree heartily with Margaret’s assessment of these wonderful garden friends!
Hi, Jean. A nice plant, and it has been with me forever and a day. Love it.