Fanal Astilbes - June 2021 Update

A year ago, I planted twelve Fanal Astilbes in the backyard - in the south bed - according to the placement spec'd by our landscape plan.  They suffered some transplant shock and had a tough go of it for the first month or so.   I baby'd them for the rest of the Summer in hopes that they'd come back this Spring.  By April of 2021, I was starting to see them come back and emerge from their dormancy.  I knew that I planted these in the wrong spot, so when I expanded the new backyard beds, all twelve of these needed to be transplanted out closer to the border in May of this year. 

I've been watering this area in pretty good this Summer because there are a series of things that have been transplanted (these + the Oakleaf Hydrangeas) and some new items (Butterscotch Amsonia that I planted in May, too).

And, all that watering has paid off with these Fanal Astilbes as many of them have come up big and bold with red flowers and quite a bit of foliage.  See the photos below to see this border of Fanal Astilbes in the southbed.  This area gets part sun - morning sun + afternoon shade.

I really like how these have filled out the border of this area and while the plan calls for just twelve (12) of them, it seems like I can use about ten more to extend the border even longer - closer to the house.  I'll be keeping an eye on the nurseries - maybe the next set can be a different color?  Or, maybe it is best to continue with the same cultivar.  I saw these Peach Blossom Astilbes at Hinsdale Nursery earlier this year and think they might look like a nice complement to the Fanals.