Aruncus Misty Lace

The Aruncus 'Misty Lace' is a hybrid variety of Goat's Beard, which stands out for its compact and spreading habit and its summery, vaporous flowering in creamy white panicles carried on reddish stems. This cultivar combines the qualities of its two parents: it is of modest size and very hardy, and its superb astilbe-like foliage ignites in autumn, turning coppery bronze. It is a wonderful perennial for woodland areas, ideal in shaded areas of gardens, and particularly advantageous near water features. This cultivar tolerates hot and humid summers well.

The 'Misty Lace' Goat's Beard is a perennial plant that spreads through rhizomes and stolons. It has a bushy, tufted habit from spring onwards. It belongs to the Rosaceae family. This hybrid was selected in 2003 by Dr. Allan Armitage at the University of Georgia in the United States. It is the result of cross-breeding between the Aruncus aethusifolius, native to Korea, compact and small in size, and the Aruncus dioicus (sylvestris), a majestic plant common in temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. 'Misty Lace' reaches a height of 80 cm (32in) when in flower, 40 cm (16in) for the foliage, and spreads over 70 cm (28in). It has rapid growth. It is a long-lived plant. Flowering occurs in June-July in slender plume-like panicles, 15 cm (6in) long, erect towards the sky and attached to reddish-brown peduncles. They are composed of tiny, soft and bright creamy white flowers. Its foliage is deciduous, as delicate as that of a fern. The arching leaves are compound, highly divided, with finely dentate leaflets. The leaf-bearing stems are tall and have long petioles. Light green in spring and summer, the foliage takes on magnificent hues in September-October, just like the inflorescences.

It is a plant that thrives in freshness; it can tolerate the sun only if the soil is not too dry, especially in summer. It adapts well to clay soils, provided they are healthy and well-amended. The Goat's Beard 'Misty Lace' is particularly suitable for cottage gardens, natural gardens, woodland gardens, and near water features. It can easily be grown in pots or troughs with Astilbes, to which it bears a striking resemblance. Its combination with the grey foliage of officinal sages 'Berggarten' or 'Tricolor' and the coppery ribbons of Carex comans 'Bronze' is superb. It creates lovely scenes with Aconitum, foxgloves, ferns, other shade-loving perennials and water-loving plants. In large borders, it forms beautiful pairings with rhododendrons, azaleas, and hydrangeas. It is also a lovely flower for summer bouquets.