Sanguisorba or Burnet

These more unusual herbaceous perennials make a wonderful addition to the garden.

For best results, it thrives on moisture retentive soil and a position that doesn't get sun all day, maybe just the morning sun as this seems to be a favourite location for this plant.

Mature clumps will come up from nothing in the winter, to cover an area of, maybe one square metre, with a variety such as Sanguisorba hakusanensis.  This particular variety is photographed at the beginning of this article.

Sanguisorba hakusanensis comes from Japan.

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There are other more compact varieties, such as Sanguisorba alpina with its much more silvery foliage and pinkish flowers and I believe this one comes from the edge of Siberia and Mongolia and therefore it is very hardy in the UK.

Sanguisorba obtusa, is again Japanese and is probably the better known form and therefore more widely grown and more available.

There are other forms of Sanguisorba, but the flower heads are not quite so soft in appearance and therefore varieties such as Sanguisorba officinalis have a tighter red flower, without the wispy edge and therefore appear less graceful.

To me, Sanguisorba officinalis is fabulous with a mature Choisya ternata Sundance behind it, thus showing off the red flowers superbly.

Sanguisorba is technically related to rose and therefore it is best to position it where you haven't had any of the Rose family growing previously.

Sanguisorba canadensis is a white flowered form with longer, thinner flowers.

For the taller varieties it is a good idea to grow them through a plant support to help them stay in position and not flop over.

These are a reliable set of plants that rarely suffer from any forms of disease, so if you have a moist area in the garden, then this could be the plant for you!  Good luck

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