Apart from being very pretty what can you tell me about them? What varieties do you prefer? What conditions do they like? Do they flower for long? Height and spread etc ? Hope I haven't ask too much.
They like damp and shade. They will flower for long periods. There are several to choose from, it's worth Googling them to see the full range, and colours are in the white, pink and darkish red spectrum. Sizes vary with type. Lovely plants but I don't have a favourite - mine are from the inexpensive, easily available shelf!
I understood some of the cultivars, like Roma, can thrive in sun, so long as the are kept moist. I have half a dozen little plants growing on, destined for my east border, where they will be a bit more sheltered from my often fierce heat. However the leaves are getting scorched in the indirect light of my well-ventilated poly, so I’m not sure it will be a successful experiment. I will plant them out anyway and see what happens...
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
They loved life in my Belgian garden in partial shade but the sun was not as intense as it is here and there was plenty of rain. They did not like full sun, even there.
The flowers last a long time and are very beautiful. They look great with roses and in flower arrangements. I like the dark red colours which are more tolerant of the sun. I have Shaggy, Hadspen Blood, Ruby Wedding, Gill Richardson, Roma and Buckland and I love them all. They take a bit longer than most perennials to establish but are worth the wait.
Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.
I grew all mine from seeds, courtesy of @Beaus Mum. So I took pot luck how they would turn out, I have every colour there is going I think, they are in bloom now, I cut them right down when these flowers finish and they go again, they germinate very easily.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Damn, should have gone for a dark one then (which I liked the look of better) if they are more sun tolerant, but I thought I would start with an ‘easy’ one like Roma, because it is oft cited as being easier and more tolerant all ‘round... ah well, it will either thrive or not!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Here are some of my faves... Astrantia Major Claret. Planted about 18 months ago as 9cm plants, I was a bit disappointed with them last year, but they’re really thriving now. In clay soil (that I try to improve), full afternoon sun. I put some Hadspen Blood in last year. They look a similar colour, but will look better next year once they’ve filled out.
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The RHS offers this advice https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/1870/Astrantia-major/Details and you can look up named varieties on their site.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Here are some of my faves... Astrantia Major Claret. Planted about 18 months ago as 9cm plants, I was a bit disappointed with them last year, but they’re really thriving now. In clay soil (that I try to improve), full afternoon sun. I put some Hadspen Blood in last year. They look a similar colour, but will look better next year once they’ve filled out.
In the sticks near Peterborough