A gardener's checklist for early summer
The Only Shrubs You Need to Grow
Bold and Beautiful Zinnias
Viburnums are Versatile Shrubs
Backyard Makeover Game
Video: Make a Straw-Bale Garden
Garden Catalog Collector
Lilacs: Time for a Fresh Look
How to Grow Raspberries
Friendly Ways to Battle Garden Pests
Free Download: Rose Pruning and Bed Prep
Variegated Plants Create Drama
Enchanting Japanese Maples
15 Deer-Resistant Plants
Perfect Edges for Your Beds and Borders
All About Starting Seeds
Soil Testing is Worth the Effort
Big Flowers from Bigleaf Hydrangeas
10 Perennials Easily Grown from Seed
Off With Their Heads: Deadheading Perennials
How to Start a Vegetable Garden
Building a Compost Bin
Find the Perfect Tomato
25 Robust Summer Bloomers
Make Your Own Hypertufa Container

Find a plant:

Printer Friendly Add to My Favorites Pin It

Genus Astilboides

Astilboides tabularis Photo/Illustration: Jennifer Benner

ass-til-BOY-deez

One species makes up this genus, but it is magnificent. Astilboides tabularis creates exceptional drama and contrasts well with finely-textured foliage. The magnificent leaves have ruffled edges and prominent veins, and form a central, concave depression at the point of stem attachment. The leaves mature to 3 feet wide, and splay outward, forming what looks like an enormous foliage bouquet. Small panicles of creamy white flowers appear on 5-foot-tall stems. It is often known as Rodgersia tabularis.
Noteworthy characteristics: This unique species bears large, rounded leaves that resemble lily pads and seem to defy gravity.
Care: Grow in cool, moist soil in partial shade.
Propagation: Divide in spring as foliage emerges. Sow seed in autumn.
Problems: Slugs on flower buds.