My Thalictrums

[Catname]

I have 4 Thalictrums in the same, large flower bed. Two are in a sunny spot and get the sun all day, the other two get sun until mid afternoon. I am on clay and the bed doesn't have the best drainage but I did try to plant them on mounds with compost apart from the one which is absolutely thriving in a spot that gets the run off from the reservoir of our water feature and sends flower stalks up to 6ft tall. The other three have barely grown to a foot tall for the last three summers so are a bit disappointing.

Can anyone tell me if the Thalictrums I have a particularly difficult to grow, or is it just my conditions:

Hewitts Double (shaded in afternoon)
Black Stockings (shaded in afternoon)
Splendide White (in full sun)

Flavum Glaucum is the one that is very happy in full sun and a lot of moisture.

If I need to move them, where would they do better? If they can stay where they are, what can I do to encourage them to grow a bit?

I don’t know what variety mine are, one pink, one white. Both are on clay, wet in winter, in shade. They’re about chest high, which is plenty high enough for me.

Wild Thalictrum usually has damp soil, so maybe you overdid the mounds?Shade should not be a problem.

That’s interesting. I’ve got a bit of Flavum Glaucum in a very shaded bed and it’s not terribly happy, and another bit in shade till midday and it does well, but not as well as the full sun and very moist area. Maybe I need to start watering the other ones to see if that improves things for them. I also wondered if it was in part that they’re just not very far advanced this year because I’m in the north of England. My Verbena Bonariensis is still only about 8 inches tall.

I’m in the north of England How far N? I’m Yorkshire

They really don’t like to be dry and both last spring and this spring have been so dry, I can’t believe I’m about to start watering everything and it’s only june. Mine are currently glorious.

I’m on the border of N Yorks and Co Durham so not terribly far north of you Mere.

It’s difficult to believe that this border is dry as parts of it are positively waterlogged when it rains.

Do they mind being planted close to other plants as I am known to overplant somewhat 😙🎶🎶🎶

I have several thalictrum black stockings and this year they are incredible. I think this is their third year, and in the hot summers of the last two years (I'm in the southeast) they haven't been particularly impressive but they are currently at least 4ft high and have been flowering their socks off for weeks. My neighbour was so impressed he has bought some too! I am not sure why they are doing so well but I think the cooler weather this spring must have helped. They don't have great conditions - they are in a narrow raised border with poor soil that is quite dry and gets afternoon sun only. I've hardly watered them this year and I don't think I've fed them either. They are quite densely planted but nothing immediately crowding them out. I also put in a thalictrum delavayi among some roses and it has not done anything at all this year - it is obviously crowded out and I will move it in the autumn.

Way to make me feel jealous nothing 😀

I’m sure I’ve read Hewitt’s Double can be a bit temperamental. I’ve not fed any of them so maybe I'll try that for this summer and then look at moving them later in the year if they’ve still not responded.

I've had Hewitt's Double in a damp bed next to our pond for about three years and it also only gets about 18 inches high. It has quite a lot of flowers, they're just not very tall !

Thalictrum are in the family ranunculaceae along with buttercups (like trollius) aquilegia, delphiniums, clematis, and the like. As a general rule of thumb ranunculaceae prefer life on the cool side - at the roots even if they like their heads in the sun. My garden's full of thalictrum: hundreds - too many actually as they self seed everywhere. They don't like it hot and bare but otherwise I don't think they're fussy. I'm in Scotland.

I’m on the border of N and W. So wetter than you and probably not as cold in winter.

I think they’re OK being crowded by smaller plants, not so sure about jostling with larger ones. I say that because Thalictrum minus, the only one I see in the wild, I’ve only seen in grikes of limestone pavements or occasionally in short turf. One of mine is underneath two apple trees, and had alpine strawberries at its feet, but nothing jostling at its shoulders. The other is overshadowed by apple trees and a swamp cypress, and is jostled by an Astrantia which is losing the battle.

The more I look into it, the more the key thing seems to be moist soil in the summer

Sorry - my post did sound a bit braggy! And the black stockings do look great this year, but really not thanks to any special care or attention from me, so I would guess that the cool and wet spring suited them.

It's OK nothing I'll do the bragging about the Thalictrum Flavum Glaucum when it's blocking out the sun when in full flowering mode and I do nothing at all with that either and it's in full sun with no shade at the roots Bideshi 🤣** Plants are a complete law unto themselves!

Whilst lamenting my lack of growth today, I have noticed I have a single flower on Black Stockings. It is very pretty. You just need to kneel down to see it 😀

They were definitely about 3ft tall when first planted so it's something that I'm doing - and possibly it is the other plants at shoulder height for a couple of them Mere.

Feeding and watering and cross my fingers for growth coming up!

I have lots of thalcitrum. No idea what sort, mostly pink but some white. They self seed and thrive on my heavy clay soil in south Yorkshire. They grow quite tall, I love the fact that they never flop even on those slender stems. They are like fluffy clouds above the rest of the border.

Mine get to nine feet in a moist, sunny bed. Not sure which varieties, two are fluffy yellow, can’t remember what the third is, white probably. I have Hewitts’s Double in a different bed and that gets tall but more like five feet. I have more this year still potted as they started off in pots as I have been dithering where to put them . They do seem to like damper ground .

The nine feet ones would be 'Elin' or its offspring.

9 feet tall - wow! I might start looking for that one…