I’ve seen Aruncus ‘Guinea-Fowl’ listed in catalogs as a selection of both the 5′ tall Aruncus dioicus and the 9′ tall Aruncus sylvester, but neither is correct. This hybrid actually comes from German plant breeder Ernst Pagels, and is a cross of the dwarf Korean native Aruncus aethusifolius and the taller European Aruncus dioicus. The compact 1′ tall clumps of very cutleaf foliage are topped in May (NC) with 12-18″ tall stalks of small, airy white wands. In flower, Aruncus ‘Guinea-Fowl’ is more scrumptious than a vanilla snow cone on a 100 degree summer day. What remains a mystery is why you would name a plant after a deformed partridge.
