Question: What can you tell me about growing lady’s mantle?
Answer: Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla spp.) are easy-to-grow perennials most admired for their frothy flowers and interesting leaves. They are herbs, but they’re common in perennial gardens and often thought of first as an ornamental.
Flowers: Small yellow-green flowers are carried in dense clusters about 6 inches above the plant’s foliage, giving an overall frothy appearance. Late spring through summer.
Foliage: Usually fan-shaped, slightly hairy and toothed along the edges. Some species, such as A. mollis, have leaves that look round and hold water droplets after a rainstorm.
Care: Lady’s mantles like average, moist soil and part sun to shade, though they may take full sun in cool climates. Alchemilla mollis spreads aggressively by seed and should be deadheaded promptly to prevent this. Deadheading also may prompt reblooming. Most species are hardy to USDA Zones 3–7. Native to Europe and Asia.