Chocolate Shogun Astilbe

If you have grown most Astilbe, you probably admired the colorful spring foliage, but then noticed how it turns green quite quickly. Not all varieties do that, though, and the Chocolate Shogun Astilbe is renowned for keeping its chocolate-bronze leaf color from the first moment it emerges right into fall when it finally dies back. It makes a terrific color accent among other shade-loving plants, and is effective in pots too. The beauty isn’t over, though, because the striking flower stems, that grow up to more than 2 feet tall and arch over, are beautiful tones of white and soft pink, looking terrific against the dark leaves. Flowers come later than we see in most Astilbe varieties, making this plant also useful for extending the summer season. A fabulous choice for shade gardens, with Hosta, other Astilbe, Ferns, and shrubs like azalea and rhododendron too. Shade can be as exciting as the rest of your garden, and the Shogun is ready to help out.

• Beautiful mound of chocolate-bronze foliage from spring to fall
• Graceful, tall flower spikes of white and pink
• Excellent color contrast with other shade-loving plants
• Blooms from mid to late summer, after most other Astilbe
• Should be grown in damp soil, as it isn’t drought tolerant

Plant the Chocolate Shogun Astilbe in partial shade, with shelter from the afternoon sun, but it will also grow in full sun in cold zones, if the soil is damp. It will also grow in deeper, full shade, but growth may be less luxuriant, and flowering more limited. The ideal soil is damp, rich and well-drained, and this plant isn’t drought tolerant. It will also grow in wet soil that isn’t stagnant. Don’t worry, though, even if established plants burn and dry in summer, they re-sprout normally the next spring. Deer and rabbits don’t eat it, and it doesn’t have pest or disease issues. It even grows near the roots of the Black Walnut tree, where many other plants fail. Trim flower stems once they brown, if you want to, although many gardeners leave them until fall. Cut back the leaves in fall, close to the ground – that’s all the maintenance this easy plant needs.