Grow and Care for Meadow Rue

Grow meadow rue in part shade, in soil that stays moist. Meadow rue is Thalictrum — not the herb rue sold as Ruta.

Give it part shade and soil that stays moist

Meadow rue is a woodland-edge perennial. A few hours of morning sun, then shade, keeps the foliage green. Hot afternoon sun browns the leaflets. Full sun works only if the soil stays moist. [1] In a long hot summer, give it afternoon shade. Deep shade makes fewer flowers. Garden kinds are usually left alone by deer and rabbits; that is not a deer-proof promise. [2] Aquilegiifolium wants that same moist shade. So does Rochebrunianum. Match kind on Types of Meadow Rue. The 6- to 9-inch spring plant that vanishes in summer is on How to Grow Rue Anemone.

Keep the soil moist through the season

Do not let the root zone dry, and do not leave the crown in standing water. Water at the base so the leaves stay dry. Still, wet air invites mildew.

1. Water in after planting, and keep the root zone moist until new growth shows.
2. Then water whenever the top few inches start to dry. Do not wait for wilt.
3. Mulch with compost or shredded leaves. Keep the mulch off the crown.
4. Skip heavy fertilizer. Rich, moist soil is the aim.

Cluster tall stems, or stake them

Stems over about 4 feet can flop in wind or a heavy rain. Plant tall kinds in a group of three so they lean on each other, or set a ring or bamboo stake early, before the stems elongate. Shade and heavy feed make flop worse. Black Stockings is in that tall class.

1. Read the mature height on the tag before you plant.
2. Set tall kinds in a small cluster, or add a grow-through ring while the shoots are still short.
3. Do not wait until a storm has already bent the stems.

Cut spent stems after they fade, or leave them through winter

Deadheading is optional. Cutting spent sprays can bring a shorter, sturdier plant and fewer seedlings. After frost, when the foliage has died back, cut the stems to the ground, or leave the seed heads for winter and cut them in late winter before new growth.

1. If you want a tidier clump, cut faded flower stems as they brown.
2. Leave a few heads only if you want seed.
3. After the leaves die back, cut remaining stems to the ground, or wait until late winter.
4. Do not cut new spring shoots.

Plant in spring, with the crown at the soil surface

Set the crown even with the surrounding soil. Burying it invites rot. Leave about 12 to 36 inches between plants, to the mature width on the tag. [3]

1. Plant in spring so roots take before summer heat. Early fall also works while the soil is still workable.
2. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and twice as wide. Mix compost into the backfill.
3. Set the ball so the crown sits at soil level, not buried.
4. Space plants 12 to 36 inches apart. Backfill, firm, and water in.

Divide the clump in spring or fall

After a few years the clump thickens. Lift it in early spring as shoots show, or in fall, split off pieces that each have shoots and roots, and replant at the same depth. Named kinds do not come true from seed — divide those, or buy a plant. A new division may take a season or two to settle.

1. Dig the clump in early spring or in fall.
2. Split off sections that each have shoots and roots.
3. Replant at once at the same depth, and water in.

Not the herb rue, and not columbine

Herb rue is Ruta graveolens — a sun-loving, drought-tolerant subshrub with scented leaves that can burn skin in sun. Meadow rue is a moist, part-shade perennial with no true petals. Columbine is Aquilegia. The leaflets look alike; the flowers do not. See How to Grow Columbine. Maidenhair fern is Adiantum. See How to Grow Maidenhair Fern. [4]

If the leaflets crisped, the bed dried out — water, and give it afternoon shade.