Astilbe ‘Avalanche’ (White False Goat’s Beard) - White Plumes for Pond Edges & (Peat-Free, Pesticide-Free; Non-Native, Garden-Safe)

A luminous astilbe with foamy white plumes that light up cool, damp ground in early-mid summer. ‘Avalanche’ forms a tidy clump of divided, fresh-green foliage and sends up dense, feathery spires that read brilliantly in shade. Perfect for the pond collar, bog-edge, or a damp woodland border (it’s not aquatic). Flowers draw bees and hoverflies on still, mild days; the clump provides soft cover at the warm rim for amphibians and invertebrates. Expect 60-90 cm in flower; clump-forming and easy to divide to repeat through a border.
Native status: Non-native; garden-safe when kept evenly moist.

Where it thrives
Light: Partial shade to shade (tolerates morning sun if soil stays wet)
Moisture/Zone: Pond collar / bog-edge / damp border; consistently moist humus-rich mineral loam; do not submerge

Planting & care

• Plant into peat-free loam improved with leaf-mould/composted bark; mulch annually to lock in moisture

• Water to establish; never let it bake dry in summer (astilbes sulk if droughted)

• Deadhead for a tidy look or leave plumes for winter texture

• Divide every 3 to 4 years in spring to refresh and spread

• Avoid pesticides and high-salt feeds

Safety (important & honest):
Ornamental use only - do not ingest. Generally low-risk to handle. Keep plant material and soil out of natural watercourses.

Truth-first wildlife note:
Provides useful nectar when in bloom, but as a non-native it isn’t a larval host. For maximum wildlife value, weave through UK natives (e.g., Meadowsweet, Devil’s-bit Scabious, Water Mint) to keep forage running from spring to autumn.

Joel says…
“Think clean white plumes in cool, damp ground. Keep the roots wet, mulch each spring, and split the clump now and then - big impact, zero faff.”