Filipendula rubra Venusta

The Filipendula rubra Venusta is a large Meadowsweet, a perennial as impressive as it is robust, which seduces with its extraordinary flowering in fluffy plumes of bright baby pink. Under its extraordinary flowering, elegantly cut foliage adds to the plant's attraction even outside of flowering. This plant, which prefers moist to wet soil, is perfectly cold-resistant. It will adapt to any non- or slightly calcareous soil, remaining moist, and will create a sensation at the back of flower beds or near water sources.

The Filipendula rubra Venusta, or Red Meadowsweet, from the rose family, is a luxuriant perennial with a rhizomatous and suckering stump, native to the wet meadows of the United States. Its growth is fast, forming an imposing clump with a slightly spreading habit, reaching 1.80 m (6ft) in height when flowering and about 60 cm (24in) in diameter at maturity. The plant develops slightly purple-tinged, thread-like and ramified stems in spring, which are strong enough not to require staking. They bear large, lobed and finely veined leaves reminiscent of castor oil plants or herbaceous peonies. Their colour is a light and bright green in summer, with young leaves purple in spring. Flowering occurs in July-August, sometimes as early as June, depending on the climate. Large compound panicles appear at the top of floral stems that exceed the foliage, composed of numerous tiny flowers with protruding stamens. Their colour is intense and fresh pink, with a beautiful vivacity. The intensity of the pink fades over the course of days. This fluffy flowering, highly visited by pollinating insects, lasts several weeks, unaffected by weather fluctuations. It is followed by the formation of seeds that will germinate quite easily in moist soil.

In the garden, the Queen of the Meadows Venusta will quickly become an attraction, planted en masse at the back of flower beds, in moist to wet soil, even in heavy, sticky clay soil, or placed near a pond or a marsh. Airy, fluffy, almost feathery, it will bring a lot of lightness and a beautiful touch of candy pink to your flower beds. You can easily associate it with many other perennials, such as Blackfield Persicaria Knotweed, Purple Eupatorium, and Chinese Loosestrife, as well as Joe-Pye weeds and willowherbs. It is also a purifying plant used in lagoons to filter water bodies.