Meadow Rue

Meadow Rue (Thalictrum) - Perennial herbs with elegant foliage, but not showy flowers. A few of the smaller species rival in delicacy of form and color some of the charming Maidenhair Ferns, and may be associated with flowering plants, or those of fine foliage. T. anemonoides (Rue Anemone) is usually only a few inches high, its white flowers being nearly 1 inch in diameter, and open in April and May. It is best suited for the rock garden in deep moist soil and partial shade. The double varieties may be preferred to the type, and there is also a pretty form with pale rosy sepals. N. America. T. minus forms compact slightly glaucous symmetrical tufts, 12 to 18 inches high. May be grown in any soil, but the slender flower-stems, which appear in May and June, should be pinched off. This bushy little tuft resembles the Maiden-hair Fern, and its leaves are just as pretty for mixing with cut flowers, and last much longer. The plants also look well isolated, in large tufts in borders or as an edging. Division. T. adiantifolium is similar. T. tuberosum is about 9 inches high, with graceful foliage, and abundance of yellowish cream-colored flowers. It is hardy in a deep peat soil. S. Europe. Beside these dwarf kinds there are about two dozen other species, ranging from 3 to 6 feet in height. There is a great sameness among them, as all have finely-cut foliage. A good kind with fern-like foliage is T. aquilegifolium, which is about 4 feet high, and grows vigorously in any soil. There are two or three varieties of it, one (atro-purpureum) with dark purplish stems and leaves, and a second in which they are golden.

Kinds less well known but quite worth growing are T. Chelidonii, of doubtful hardiness, from the Himalayas, with charming pale lilac flowers and greyish-green foliage. T. Delavayi, of weak constitution, comes near this, with larger flowers of a rosy-violet color and a very dwarf habit. Much the best and most ornamental of the violet-colored Meadow Rues is T. dipterocarpum, from W. China. The plant reaches 6 feet or more high, and in July its elegant sprays sparkle with the violet-blue-white anthered flowers. A most charming plant. Happiest in loam, leaf-mould, and peat where moisture is not absent during the growing season. Easily raised from seeds. T. petaloideum is a dwarf-growing kind with white flowers. The taller sorts are in general less desirable, but two good ones are T. glaucum, from S. Europe, growing 6 feet high in moist rich soil, with grey-green finely-cut leaves and feathery heads of pale yellow flowers; and T. polygamum, from the W. United States, which grows even taller in damp places, with fine spreading clusters of white flowers in July. There is a prettily variegated garden form of the first named.

All the Thalictrums do well naturalised, and are readily increased from seed or careful division in early spring.

Related Flowers

Lilac Meadow Rue

Lilac Meadow Rue (Thalictrum Dipterocarpum) - A distinct and graceful plant, one of the best hardy flowers introduced for many years. Tall, of fine foliage and habit, with very beautiful flowers of lilac hue. Flowers in midsummer and is quite hardy, and a charming addition to the open-air flower garden. We are not sure as to its permanence, so it is well to add a stock of young plants. China.

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