Filipendula
Meadowsweet, Dropwort
- Height × spread
- 0.5m – 2m × 0.3m – 1.2m
- Position
- Full sun
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
The wild meadowsweet may be seen in roadside ditches and damp places, sending up masses of picturesque frothy flowers that last for weeks in summer. The larger, more exotic forms, such as Filipendula rubra add high flying pink drama to pond edges and wet places. Its plumes may reach 2.5 metres in height. More modest Filipendula that stand around a metre or more in height have white or pink flowers and are suitable for moist or boggy ground. There are forms with dissected, pretty foliage, and there's a gold foliage form, excellent for where there is always moisture available.
- Flower colour
- Pink, Red, White
- Foliage colour
- Green, Purple, Yellow
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- Yes, some varieties
- Shape
- Bell, Column, Dome
- Height
- 0.5m – 2m
- Spread
- 0.3m – 1.2m
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Scented garden, Prairie garden, Herb garden, Exotic garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, likes part shade, tolerates light shade
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam (normal), Poor soil
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil
- Winter hardiness
- Varies, most are hardy
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Ground cover, Bee attraction
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.
Found in
More Filipendula
Filipendula multijuga
Dropwort, Siberian meadowsweet
Filipendula palmata
Dropwort, Siberian meadowsweet
Filipendula purpurea
Dropwort, Japanese meadowsweet
Filipendula rubra 'Venusta'
Queen of the Prairies, Martha Washington plume
Filipendula ulmaria
Queen of the meadows, European meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria 'Aurea'
Golden Meadowsweet, Queen of the meadows, European meadowsweet
Filipendula vulgaris 'Multiplex'
Dropwort, Dropwort meadowsweet
Filipendula purpurea 'Elegans'
Dropwort, Japanese meadowsweet