From our perspective, we are herbaceous perennials, meaning our soft, green stems and lush foliage die back completely to the ground each winter. We do not grow as a single, woody trunk like a tree or a shrub. Instead, we emerge each spring from our underground storage structures, called rhizomes, as a clumping, mounded form. Our growth is not aggressive or running; we expand our clump gradually, season by season, in a well-behaved manner. Our overall shape is arching and cascading, which is essential for how we display our most famous feature.
In terms of height, we typically achieve a mature size of 2 to 3 feet (approximately 60 to 90 centimeters) tall. This measurement is taken from the ground to the top of our flowering stems when they are held aloft. However, this height is not a rigid standard. Our exact stature is deeply influenced by our living conditions. In a location with rich, moist, well-draining soil and the dappled sunlight we adore—mimicking our natural forest floor habitat—we can reach our fullest, most luxurious potential. If conditions are less ideal, such as in heavier clay or drier, poorer soil, we may present ourselves as more modest clumps, perhaps only 1.5 feet tall.
Our width, or spread, is generally equal to or slightly greater than our height. A mature, well-established clump of us will typically span 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 centimeters) across. We grow in a symmetrical, rounded mound, sending up multiple stems from the central crown. Each year, our rhizome system expands slightly, producing new growing points (eyes) from which additional stems emerge. This is how our clump slowly widens over time. After three to five years, we can form a substantial and impressive patch of foliage and flowers, but we are never considered invasive. We simply wish to fill the space we are given comfortably.
It is important to distinguish our vegetative growth from our floral display. The measurements above refer to the plant itself—the leaves and stems. Our flowers, which are our pride and joy, hang on arching, leafless stalks called racemes that extend beyond the main mound of foliage. These graceful racemes can add an extra 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) to the visual height of our structure when in full bloom. So, while our foliage mound may be 2 feet tall, a flowering stem arched over may bring the total visual presentation to nearly 3 feet in height. The individual flowers themselves are small, but they are arranged along these long, graceful stems, creating a wide, weeping effect of heart-shaped blossoms that can be nearly as wide as our clump is tall.
