A shade garden like this looks quite stunning. Thalictrum, or Meadow Rue with its soft, very unique pink or white blooms stands tall in the background of this Idaho garden. The mid-point plant placement with the finely divided leaves is Aconitum that will bloom later in the season and the brilliant lime-green, pleated leaves in front is Alchemilla or Lady’s Mantle. With this combination of shade plants it’s impossible to call the shade garden boring.
It’s not easy to find a good-looking tall plant for the shady garden but to find one as unique as Thalictrum is a total rush. The flowers bloom in both lilac and white but are not flowers at all. The cotton candy-looking blooms are actually Thalictrum’s sex organs. Sepals on most flowers stay green but Thalictrums form lilac or white fuzzy pom-poms. Some of these are male and some are female.
The thirty-inch tall foliage of Thalictrum is outstanding for it stays fresh looking throughout the entire season. In late spring, Thalictrum sends up wiry stems from clusters with deeply divided bluish-green leaves that resemble Columbines. All that is required to keep the foliage looking fresh is removing the spent seed-pods when it finishes blooming. Its airy beauty compliments many other shade perennials like Hosta or Bergenia.
Thalictrum’s full name is Thalictrum aquilegifolium, meaning foliage resembling Aquilegia or Columbine, and its common name is Meadow Rue. Thalictrum’s name is from Greek, meaning a plant with divided leaves. Its roots belong in the Ranunculaceae or buttercup family. Many of the Ranunculaceae are noted for toxic qualities. Both poisonous perennials, Aconitum and Delphiniums are related so refrain from ever eating these family members. Historically, Thalictrum is a native of temperate regions Europe and is considered a zone-five perennial but performs year after year in both my colder Utah and Idaho gardens.
Thalictrum’s fresh seeds can be placed in the garden as soon as they are snipped off, and by next spring, (the seeds need a winter’s vernalization), there may be sprouts. Thalictrum’s seeds are propagated only by wind and insects. The flowers contain no nectar-producing structures. This gives Meadow Rue the reputation of not being an invasive perennial. Most seedlings tend to be white but they are known to surprise a gardener.
Thalictrum is a valuable perennial for High Valley gardens for it is pest and deer-resistant and is quite drought-tolerant. Position Meadow Rue in shade or partial shade. It thrives in the Mountain’s cool summers and refuses to grow in the hot and humid summers of the Deep South. If growing Thalictrum is new, I promise, you won’t be disappointed by its peculiar but fascinating looking flowers.
