As a child I spent many days in the woods near our house in town and at the lake, there my interest in plants was awakened. Many of the plants I encountered there I have not found in the area I live now. Other plants I see may be related to the forms I grew up with. One Plant I learned as a child but find different species of here is Thalictrum. In the woods I saw Thalictrum occidentale and its leaves in particular being so delicate remained in my memory. Here we are blessed with several species of this plant with the best known probably being Thalictrum aquilegifolium (Common Meadow Rue). It has the beautifully dainty foliage but completely different and unusual flowers and the bonus is that it is very hardy.
A perfectly growing Thalictrum aqilegifolium 'album' is seen at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria.
Common Meadow Rue has a fairly wide area which it is found growing wild in. It ranges from west in France and Spain in through Switzerland into western Russia south into Romania into Bulgaria and rarely found in Turkey. With the area it is found in it is not surprising to note that several well known varieties have been collected.
Thalictrum aquilegifolium color ranges from deeper and lighter mave shades, pale pink , cream and pure white.
In researching Common Meadow Rue there is surprising little written about it. The plant was named by Linnaeus and is thought to be the original Greek name. The genus of Thalictrum is quite large with between 100 and 2oo named species. It has proven to be difficult to define its taxonomy. Over time these problems will disappear which a closer look at genetic material now being used to determine and classify plants.
Thalictrum aquilegifolium grows well in the sun or shade with suitable soil conditions met.
Thalictrum aquilegifolium is a fairly large plant in that it grows quite tall and for this reason is best place in the middle or the back of the bed. Generally Common Meadow Rue grows 1-1.2 m. (3-4 ft.) tall and spreads 30 cm. (1ft.). It is densely grown and if grown in enough sun does not need staking as the floral stems will be rigid They like humus rich soil which retains moisture during the summer but is not wet. They like dappled to full sun, the more sun the more watering needed to look their best. They are easy care and have attractive seed heads.
The delicate foliage of Common Meadow Rue is perfectly matched by its downy,fluffy flower heads.
With its sturdy growth and yet dainty grace Thalictrum aquilegifolium is tough and withstands prairie cold temperatures of -35c. (-31 f.) and is rated as zone 3. I can attest to its hardiness as I gave one of these plants to my mother (zone 3) who promptly planted it in her garden. The following year I visited as was greeted with a glorious show of mauve flowers on a sturdy plant. In the following years my mother told me how much she enjoyed the plant and that it has produced several seedlings which she planned to move to other locations in the garden. Seed is the best way to propagate the plant, remember to stratify (chill it like it would go through winter). These plants can be divided in autumn when they are dormant.
Here Common Meadow Rue is planted mid-range in a sunny long border at Playfair Park in Saanich.
Mauve or White..
A prairie gardens comments on the plant: http://em.ca/garden/per_thalictrum_aquilegifolium1.html
Comments from gardeners from around the world and their experiences: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/501/
An interesting tracking of the popularity of this plant over the years in graph form:
http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/listing/species_pages_T/Thalictrum_aquilegifolium.htm
………I hope you continue to make tracks to visit here weekly………..
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