Astilbe chinensis Mighty Chocolate Cherry - Chinese Astilbe

Astilbe chinensis Mighty Chocolate Cherry is a variety of Chinese Astilbe with beautiful stature and lots of colour, that will not go unnoticed in the wet beds it loves. Its noble flowering, in plumes of incandescent red, dominates a beautiful clump of foliage tinted with brown, purple and red hues. Like all astilbes, it is an essential perennial for ornamenting compact, heavy, wet and marshy soils. It is very resistant to cold, never sick, and lives for a long time in the same place.

The Astilbe chinensis, from the family of saxifrages, is native to China, Korea and eastern Siberia. It is an herbaceous perennial plant with a rhizomatous stump that is dedicated to wet and fertile soils, although less demanding of water than other species of astilbe.

The Astilbe chinensis Chocolate Cherry quickly forms a mound of foliage that somewhat resembles a fern. This cushion-like tuft is composed of a set of leafy stems reaching about 80 cm (32in) in height with a spread of 90 cm (35in). The upright, slightly arched stems bear compound leaves, cut into more or less strongly toothed, hairy leaflets. Their colour is a dark green more or less washed with brown and red tones. In average climates, the flowering of 'Chocolate Cherry' begins in June-July and ends in late August. Strong, dark red-tinged floral stems, easily reaching 1.20 m (4ft) in height, emerge from the foliage. Particularly abundant, this flowering takes the form of long and wide branched spikes in plumes, with an extremely feathery appearance, where a multitude of tiny flowers crowd together. Their bright cherry red colour becomes lighter at the end of flowering, creating a magnificent sparkling bouquet on the scale of the plant. It is a deciduous plant, whose above-ground vegetation dries and dies in winter, and regrows in spring.

This 'Chocolate Cherry' Astilbe is happy to be placed near a body of water that serves as a mirror, giving it a unique charm. This variety also thrives in shady beds where the soil remains cool even in summer. It can be associated, for example, with pretty shade companions such as bugbanes, ferns, and giant hostas. Its sparkling plumes bring a beautiful touch of colour to the undergrowth, and will enliven facades exposed to the northeast along with hydrangeas. Planted in a ribbon formation, Astilbes highlight shaded pathways in the company of liriope and saxifrages. Their fern-like foliage will contrast nicely with that of their opulent neighbours. Also consider associating them with rhubarb. Their feathery flowering blends perfectly with that of persicarias, for example. Chinese astilbes can tolerate exposure to the sun if it is filtered and the soil remains well moist.