Astrantia major Ruby Wedding - Masterwort

Astrantia major 'Ruby Wedding' is interesting for the unusual colour of its flowers, a deep and rich red. This variety of masterwort forms a vigorous bushy clump,  which flowers abundantly throughout the summer. Its tiny red flowers are gathered in umbels on a collar of burgundy bracts like beautiful jewels. Their colour is highlighted by the dark and shiny green, abundant palmate foliage. Undemanding, it grows in full sun to partial shade, in moist and fertile soil. It is also a good flower for dry or fresh bouquets.

Astrantia major, native to central and eastern Europe, belongs to the Apiaceae family (formerly called Umbellifers), it is a distant relative of the carrot. The plant has a bushy and quite loose habit with elegant flowers.  It forms a clump of 55-60 cm (22-24in) in height when flowering, 40 cm (16in) for the foliage, and 45 cm (18in) wide. The foliage is dense, composed of deciduous palmate leaves, with 5 deep lobes, lanceolate, dentate, dark green and heavily veined. The umbel inflorescences appear from June to September, at the end of very stiff stems. They are medium-sized (3 cm (1in)), composed of dozens of small flowers in a deep red, surrounded by a collar of large shiny bracts, in a burgundy colour. The vegetation of masterwort is deciduous and disappears in winter and emerges from the ground in spring.

Easy to grow in ordinary, moist and not too compact soil, Astrantia major 'Ruby Wedding' thrives in sunny or partially shaded positions, even in full shade in warm climates. Simple and elegant, masterwort brings a touch of naturalness and refinement to the garden. This plant, very trendy in contemporary arrangements, requires little maintenance and thrives even where the garden is not maintained. It blends beautifully with pastel colours. Combine it with perennials and roses in any style of garden: modern, natural or romantic. 'Ruby Wedding' could be very beautiful next to a purple plant like Actaea simplex Atropurpurea or Amaranthus Velvet Curtains. In a red garden, on the edge of a woodland, combine it with the purple foliage of Heuchera 'Binoche', 'Black Out' and Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Niger', for example.

Tips: Combine several varieties to create a beautiful palette of colours.