Cimicifuga ramosa ‘Atropurpurea’
Otherwise known as Septemberkerze (September Candle) in Germany
This one actually started flowering a few days before September this year. It smells wonderful! A bit like candyfloss!
There are many different Cimicifuga. Some with dark purplish-brown leaves (like this one), some green, some flower much earlier, some later, some grow to just a metre or so, some to almost 2 metres. Most smell divine, but some have only a faint fragrance, and I have smelt one at a plant fair that was quite unpleasant!
This one is about 1.5 metres high, and does not spread at all. It is at home in the coolest part of the garden… I’m still surprised every time I see the chocolatey buds forming, as it would really like a shadier position, but it was one of the few plants which came with me from my last garden and it got the best I could offer! The pinkish flowers contrast beautifully with the purple buds and leaves… but sadly the leaves tend to scorch easily. (Hence no photo!)
The tiny flowers remind me of Thalictrum...
Words and Herbs 