False Goatsbeard

Astilbe 'Dark Side of the Moon'

Name: Astilbe 'Dark Side of the Moon'
Brand: GROW TROPICALS
SKU: ASTILDARK17
Price: 16.99 GBP
Availability: InStock

£16.99

Very hardyShade-tolerantLoved by pollinators

Pot size

17cm / 2L £16.99

FREE tracked delivery on orders over £60

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Description

Dark foliage and plumes in one plant: Astilbe 'Dark Side of the Moon' is a clump-forming perennial grown as much for its leaves as its flowers. The finely cut foliage emerges bronze-green with a dark edge in spring and deepens to a rich chocolate-purple as summer arrives. Above it, raspberry-red buds open into airy plumes of rosy-purple in the middle of summer. It reaches about half a metre in height and spread, so it earns its place at the front or middle of a shady border.

Hardiness and seasons: This is a genuinely tough plant, rated H7 by the RHS, which means it shrugs off hard British winters without protection. It dies back to the ground in late autumn and returns each spring, so do not worry if it disappears over winter. The darkest foliage colour shows on plants that get a little sun, while the leaves stay greener in deep shade.

How and where to grow: Astilbe wants moisture. Give it a spot in partial shade or full sun on soil that stays reliably damp, ideally clay or loam that has been improved with plenty of organic matter. It will cope with a range of pH from acid to alkaline. The one thing it dislikes is drying out, so a bright, baking position without watering is best avoided. It grows to roughly 0.5m tall and wide over two to five years.

Getting it established and where it earns its keep: Plant it out and keep it watered through its first summer while the roots take hold. After that it is low effort, spreading slowly into a neat clump. It works well in a damp border, beside a pond, in a woodland-edge planting or in a large container that does not dry out, and the plumes are a useful draw for bees. Our plants are grown outdoors and hardened off, ready to go straight into the garden.

Live Arrival Guarantee

All plants are covered by our 7-day live arrival guarantee. We pack every order in protective, sustainable packaging designed to keep your plants safe in transit, and every plant is checked before it ships. On the rare occasion something is not right on arrival, we will make it good, provided the plant is still in its original nursery pot.

Find out more

What to Expect

Seasonal by nature: what to expect

Grown outdoors, the way nature intended. Weather-tested and hardened in real UK conditions, so they thrive in your garden. A few marks on the older leaves are normal, the sign of a tough, real plant rather than a flaw.
It follows the seasons. Depending on when you order, your plant may arrive cut back, dormant or leafless. That's healthy: dormancy is the ideal time to plant.
Posted, not posed. Big leafy plants like bananas and gingers may be trimmed or gently folded to travel safely. It does the plant no harm, and it powers away again in spring.

Not sure what to expect from yours? Dormant, cut-back or weather-marked plants are all perfectly healthy and normal. Read what to expect through the seasons

Delivery & returns

Order by 1pm Monday to Friday for same day dispatch. Every plant travels in protective, plant-safe packaging with tracked delivery.

Changed your mind? See our Return Policy.

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How to care for False Goatsbeard

Plant me in full sun and the coldest UK winters do not worry me.

In their words

What our customers say

Arrived just like the photos - maybe even fuller. Healthy, well-acclimated, and straight into my collection with no issues.

Emily P.

Flawless leaves, stunning variegation, and clearly cared for by experts. It’s already a talking point in my home office.

James R.

Hard to find rare plants that are pet-safe. Ours arrived in perfect condition and looks amazing without any worry.

Sophie L.

Get to know me

About False Goatsbeard

Astilbe 'Dark Side of the Moon' needs full sun or partial shade and moist but well-drained soil. It is very hardy, standing the coldest UK winters outdoors.

Good for

Exotic Borders Pots & Containers Shade Wildlife & Pollinators

Hardiness

TenderVery hardy

Hardy Exotic (H7): below −20°C. Very hardy; shrugs off the coldest UK winters.

Fully hardy in the UK (RHS H7). Dies back over winter and returns in spring. Read moreShow less

Fully hardy in the UK (RHS H7). Dies back over winter and returns in spring.

Position

Full sunPartial shadeEast-facingSouth-facingWest-facingExposedSheltered

Partial shade or full sun. A little sun brings out the darkest leaf colour. Read moreShow less

Partial shade or full sun. A little sun brings out the darkest leaf colour.

Soil

ClayLoamMoist but well-drainedPoorly-drainedAcid pHAlkaline pHNeutral pH

Moisture-retentive clay or loam enriched with organic matter, acid to alkaline. Read moreShow less

Moisture-retentive clay or loam enriched with organic matter, acid to alkaline.

Watering

Keep the soil reliably damp through the first summer and in dry spells. This plant dislikes drying out. Read moreShow less

Keep the soil reliably damp through the first summer and in dry spells. This plant dislikes drying out.

Mature size

Height0.5m

Spread0.5m

Reaches full size in 2 to 5 years

Growth habit

Clump-forming

Flowering

JFMAMJJASOND

Summer · Purple

Foliage

Deciduous

Pruning

No routine pruning needed. Cut the spent flower stems and old foliage back to the ground in late autumn or early spring before new growth appears.

Toxicity

No known toxicity to people, cats or dogs.

Native range

Garden hybrid (genus native to E Asia and E North America)

Family

Saxifragaceae

Also known as

Astilbe 'Dark Side of the Moon'

Genus

Astilbe

Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Astilbe 'Dark Side of the Moon' fully hardy?

Yes. It carries the RHS H7 rating, so it withstands hard UK winters outdoors without any protection. It is herbaceous, so it dies back to the ground in winter and reshoots in spring.

Will it grow in dry shade?

Not happily. Astilbe is a moisture-lover and struggles in dry ground. Give it damp soil in partial shade or sun, and water in dry spells to keep it looking its best.

Why have the leaves disappeared in winter?

That is normal. This is a deciduous perennial, so it dies back to the roots each autumn and pushes up fresh dark foliage the following spring.

Does my plant come with a pot?

Your plant will arrive in its nursery grow pot — the plastic pot it's been growing in. We don't include a decorative pot as standard, and there's a good reason for that: it means you get to choose one that fits your space and style, rather than being stuck with something that doesn't suit your home.

It also means you're not paying extra for a pot you might not want. The nursery pot is perfectly fine to keep your plant in for a while, just pop it inside a decorative cover pot or cache pot and you're good to go. When you're ready to repot (usually after a growing season or when roots start poking out the bottom), you can move it into something more permanent with fresh soil.

If you're not sure what size cover pot to go for, check the pot selector tool listed above, you'll want a decorative pot that's a centimetre or two wider than that to give it a comfortable fit.

How big will my plant be when it arrives?

Every plant on our site includes the pot size (e.g. 12cm) and, where possible, an approximate height. That's the most reliable way to set your expectations, photos can sometimes make a plant look larger or smaller than it really is.

If you're thinking "that sounds quite small for the price," here's something worth knowing: younger, smaller plants almost always adapt better to your home than larger ones. They adjust faster to your light and humidity, put out new growth more quickly, and tend to establish stronger root systems long-term. A plant that grows into your space will usually outperform one that was already big when it arrived.

That said, every plant is an individual. The one you receive may vary slightly in height, shape, or fullness compared to the photo, that's the nature of living things, not a quality issue. We select healthy, well-established specimens, and if you ever feel your plant doesn't match what you were expecting, just get in touch and we'll take a look.

What makes your plants different from the supermarket or garden centre?

There's a big difference between a plant that's been sitting under on a retail shelf and one that's been looked after and cared for by people who specialise in exactly this.

Our plants are grown in house or sourced from specialist nurseries, many of them varieties you simply won't find at your local garden centre or supermarket. Before anything leaves us, it's checked over by our horticultural team to make sure it's healthy, well-rooted, and ready to thrive in your home. We're not shifting volume off a pallet, we're choosing plants we'd want to keep ourselves.

When you buy from a supermarket, you get a plant and a generic care label. When you buy from us, you get the knowledge that comes with it, detailed care guidance, a team you can actually contact if something isn't going right, and the confidence that what's arriving has been looked after properly from the moment it was grown to the moment it reaches your door.

We're a specialist nursery first, not a retailer that happens to sell plants. That's the difference, and you'll see it the moment you open the box.

What should I do when my plant arrives?

First things first, unbox it as soon as you can. Plants don't love being in dark boxes any more than you would, and the sooner yours is out and breathing, the better.

Remove all the packaging carefully, give the soil a check with your finger, and water lightly if it feels dry. Then find it a spot with appropriate light, but avoid putting it straight into harsh direct sun or next to a radiator. Think of it like arriving somewhere new after a long journey: it needs a moment to adjust.

It's completely normal for your plant to look a little tired or droopy after transit. This is called transit stress, and most plants bounce back within a week or two. You might see a yellow leaf or some drooping, don't panic, and resist the urge to overwater or start repotting straight away.

Our advice for the first couple of weeks: leave it in its nursery pot, water it only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and let it acclimatise to your home's light, temperature, and humidity. Once it's settled in and showing signs of new growth, you can think about repotting or moving it to its permanent spot.

Every plant we sell comes with a care guide on the product page so you'll know exactly what it needs going forward. And if anything doesn't look right, get in touch with our team, we're always happy to help.

Will my plant survive being shipped?

Yes! and we go to serious lengths to make sure of it. Every plant is hand-packed by our team with protective wrapping and secure, custom-designed boxes to keep it stable and safe in transit. We've shipped hundreds of thousands of plants across the UK and our packaging methods have been refined over years to handle the bumps and jolts of delivery.

During colder months, we monitor weather forecasts and offer heat packs where needed to protect against frost. In extreme conditions, we may hold your order for a day or two rather than risk sending it out, we'd rather you wait an extra day than receive a stressed plant.

That said, plants are living things, and the occasional transit wobble can happen. If your plant arrives damaged or isn't in the condition you'd expect, just get in touch within 48 hours with a photo, and we'll make it right, whether that's a replacement or a full refund. No fuss.

The short version: we treat every box like it's going to someone who really cares about what's inside, because it is.

Why Grow Tropicals

Plants delivered the way they deserve

Packaged with Care

Every order is hand-packed in eco-friendly, protective packaging - refined through thousands of deliveries to ensure your plant arrives healthy, hydrated, and looking its best.

Backed by our Live Arrival Guarantee.

Perfect for Gifting

From rare collector’s pieces to easy-care favourites, our plants arrive fully potted and ready to enjoy. Add a personalised note at checkout for a thoughtful finishing touch.

Delivered fresh, beautiful, and gift-ready.

Sustainability at Heart

All plants are ethically sourced from trusted growers, never wild-collected. Every order ships carbon-neutral in minimal-waste packaging.

Good for your home - and the planet.

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Astilbe 'Dark Side of the Moon'

£16.99