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Meadow-rue

Thalictrum

Also called Meadow Rues

Meadow-rue
Photo: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0

Meadow-rue (Thalictrum) is a genus of about 120 to 200 perennial herbs in the buttercup family, grown mainly for their airy sprays of fluffy stamen flowers and blue-green foliage. Most prefer part shade and moist soil, and the species vary widely in size and needs.

Family
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep soil consistently moist, especially in summer, without letting it become waterlogged.
Soil
Moist, fertile, humus-rich soil with good drainage.
Temperature
Hardy in cool to temperate climates; most tolerate winter cold well, but heat and drought stress many species.
How easy
Easy

About

Thalictrum ( ) is a genus of 120–200 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, native mostly to temperate regions. Meadow-rue is a common name for plants in this genus.

Thalictrum is a taxonomically difficult genus with poorly understood species boundaries; it is in need of further taxonomic and field research for clarification.

How to grow it

Thalictrum species are valued as ornamental garden plants, with their sprays of flowers in delicate shades. The following cultivars, with mixed or unknown parents, have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

'Black Stockings'

Where it grows

Meadow-rues are usually found in shaded or damp locations, with a sub-cosmopolitan range throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and also south to southern Africa and tropical South America, but absent from Australasia. They are most common in temperate regions of the world; twenty-two species are found in North America.

Other Thalictrum plants

French Meadow-rue · Chinese Meadow Rue · Common meadow-rue · Dwarf Meadow Rue · Lavender Mist Meadowrue

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thalictrum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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