ASTRANTIA (Astran'tia)

DESCRIPTION: These herbaceous perennials, also known as Masterwort, are natives of Europe and Asia. They grow from 1 to 2 feet high and they spread from 12 to 18 inches. The flowers of these plants are valued for drying and using in arrangements. A. magor var. 'Sunningdale Variegated' forms clumps of leaves, which are divided into 3 to 5 coarsely toothed lobes. They are medium green and splotched with pale yellow and cream. Throughout the summer and fall they produce clusters of tiny, greenish-pink florets, with a star-shaped collar of papery-white, pink, and green bracts underneath. A. major involucrata has dark green leaves that are also divided into 3 to 5 coarsely toothed lobes. They have domes of tiny, greenish-pink florets, which are surrounded by long, papery, white and pink, green-tipped bracts. They are produced in the summer and fall.

POTTING: Grow Masterwort in any fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny place.

PROPAGATION: Seeds may be sown in containers of light soil in a frame in the spring. They may also be divided in October or March and replanted.

VARIETIES: A. Biebersteinii; A. carniolica; A. major; A. minor.

Go see DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL NAMES.

Back to our botanical home page.