All chinensis I know have a running habit. If you can't provide constant moisture for Astilbes, don't bother with them. I got rid of mine without crying.

Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii 'Purple Lance' is a great plant if you can work with the color. It blooms late (mine just finished), it's tall (about 3 feet in bloom), is very drought tolerant and does not like full shade. I think a lot of people in the North think of astilbe as shade plants, but they don't do well when grown that way. It's also very vigorous, so it can be divided often to increase stock if you want to. The only negative for this plant would be the flower stalks bend over in high wind or heavy rain because they are so dense with blooms.

Kevin

Thank you Kevin. I googled Purple Lance and if the photos are true to life this color would work well in the area I am considering. I will look for a source for it. The area also does get some sun, maybe about 2-3 hours, and is fairly protected so hopefully the winds won't be an issue!

Thanks again.

Here's a photo of Purple Lance in my garden. I would describe the color as kind of a pink/purple, but definitely more on the purple side.

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Another nice one and also a heavy bloomer is Astilbe x arendsii 'Glut'. The color is a pretty intense, ruby red, but it blooms much earlier. It's not as vigorous as Purple Lance, but is still a keeper.

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The last couple of years, I've been paying more attention to which Astible do well for me. I have to agree with your original post that not all of these are created equal. I have a few no matter where I move them, they just don't perform the way I want them to. Others like Purple Lance do well no matter what. In my experience at least the white varieties are the worst - sparse blooms, not all that vigorous, not sure why I keep them. Maybe I just have the wrong varieties.

Kevin

That Purple Lance is beautiful!

AS for whites, I saw there is a Visions in White, I'm considering trying it simply because my Visions do so well.

I would be nervous about "Glut" because the "Fanal" I lost was also an Astilbe x arendsii ... but you think it is more varietal specific and not species specific?

I'm not sure about Glut and the varietal vs. species specific debate. All I can say is I have other arendsii hybrids and none of them do as well as Glut. Glut also keeps it's color a long time.

I have to check out those Visions. I need a good white.

Kevin