PlantFiles: Masterwort
Astrantia major

Supposed to be zone 4 hardy too.

I wonder where one would get seeds of Astrantia?

I got one of these plants in our annual spring plant swap. I'd not heard of it before but the tag said "shade" so that's where I planted it - in my shade garden. It didn't do much the first year I planted it. I had no idea what the flowers would look like so basically I forgot about it.

This summer I was went out to the garden to weed and lo and behold, there were several stems of these strange and beautiful white flowers held high above this plant. They're almost exotic looking. I was really delighted with these and had to go back into my list of plants that I had put out there. I finally figured out what they were. They're wonderful!

Long blooming - I think they lasted from late June all the way through August. Wish I'd taken a picture! If you happen to plant one of these and don't get anything the first year, be patient - the flowers are worth waiting for!

Got this wonderful plant a few years ago. Planted it in a mixed container. Has become one of my favorites. The dark purple one is my favorite. It has beautiful flowers and it easily start from seed. But has not become invasive. Easy to start. Has withstood the winters in Western Washington state.

Has lobed, palmate leaves forming a loose mound of foliage. Daisy-like flowers rise on stems in early to mid summer and are produced throughout the summer. There are many different colors depending on the cultivar.

Usually they like continuously moist soil, woodland type conditions. A. major tolerates drier soil than other species. Will tolerate full sun as long as roots are kept moist.