Growing Astrantia

Hello! I mentioned Astrantia before when talking about my favorite perennial cut flowers for drying — here’s what it is like as a fresh flower, along with my suggestions for adding it to your line up.

Astrantia are perennial in zones 4-7 and grow to form nice wide clumps with 24-30 inch stems. We started our crop with a purchase of bare root plants. Wholesale bulb companies offer these for shipping in the spring. (Pre-order them in the fall/winter when they list their spring shipping choices.)

Astrantia like full sun or partial shade — our largest plants have some afternoon shade and a little competition for light from nearby peonies and camassia.

Like most perennials, astrantia “sleep” in their first year, “creep” in their second year and “leap” in their third year. They take a little while to get going, so the earlier you start your collection, the better.

You can also start astrantia from seed, but that takes longer. Astrantia that are left to go to seed can self-sow. You might find it easier to just divide your plants every few years until you have the size crop you’d like.