Veronicastrum virginicum Fascination

Veronicastrum virginicum 'Fascination' is a tall perennial with long summer flowering in fluffy and dancing spikes, covered with tiny soft pink flowers that fade to mauve. This airy and elegant, extremely hardy plant thrives in moist to waterlogged soils, in partial shade. It will thrive on riverbanks and around water sources.

Veronicastrum virginicum is native to the eastern United States, specifically floodplains, riverbanks, and wet ditches from Manitoba to Florida, passing through Oregon and Arkansas. 'Fascination' is a variety of this large deciduous, herbaceous perennial with pink-lilac flowers. It quickly forms an upright clump of numerous stems covered with quite dark foliage. When in bloom, this plant reaches 1.40m (5ft) high with a spread of about 70 cm (28in). The flowering period is long, from June to September, with some variation depending on the climate. The slender and long 20 cm (8in), fluffy spikes gather a large number of tiny pink flowers that are very attractive to pollinating insects. The deciduous foliage consists of leaves arranged in whorls; the lanceolate and dark green, rough leaflets are arranged in a star shape at different levels of the stem.

Plant Veronicastrum virginicum in partial shade, wherever the soil is consistently moist, as they dislike drought and scorching sun. They do not like to be disturbed but do not take up too much space on the ground. They add rhythm and height to flower beds and around water. They will be enhanced against a dark background, such as the purple foliage of hazelnuts, sycamore-leaved maples, or perennials such as Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' and the fern Osmunda regalis 'Purpurascens'.