My Persicaria polymorpha, which I've had for a number of years, is 8 feet tall and 12 feet wide. It produces new blooms until early August, at which time the old blooms turn brownish and the whole thing looks pretty tatty. I cut it to the ground around the middle of the month. It doesn't regrow much. I love this plant, though it is enormous, and I love even more Persicaria 'Crimson Beauty' a very different looking plant--14 feet tall, bamboo like stems, but also a clumper. It blooms in very late summer and the ivory flowers quickly change to a deep, rich cherry red that lasts for weeks. With large grasses, it's unbelievable.

Depends on what i have time for. If i take them off, i just cut them behind the flower.

Hi: I've rooted cuttings twice by just sticking them in a pot of potting soil and tapering off the water, but the ones from last year did not survive the winter. Hopefully this year's cuttings will.

It looks like you have a nice large property there! I assume the shed (?) in the back is yours too? Is the usual primary viewing of this area the one in the picture? If so, be careful that placement of tres, shrubs and large perennials (e.g. the Persicaria) doesn't block the view of the building (assuming you don't want to deliberately hide it....). It looks like there might be an arbour there too....? When I look at the pictures of my Persicaria, I notice that most of their companions are white-flowering too, with the effect being the Persicarias forming a background to a larger picture. So I'd probably be inclined to spread around other white-flowering things of a similar stature that would keep the area white (a color very visible from a long distance away...) over most of the season. You could start the spring with a serviceberry (which would also give fall foliage colour and berries for people and birds), a pearlbush would be nice to follow, along with viburnum. Bridalwreath or Snowmound spirea could fit in there too. There are lots of white hydrangeas that bloom at various times through the summer, some with flowers that turn pink in the late summer. Our C. kousa dogwood looks good with a Persicaria by the patio when they bloom together. For fall you could try a Heptacodium tree. That's a lot of plants! You'd need to draw a plan to scale to figure out how many plants would fit and not block the desired views. I find big blue hostas go nicely near the Persicarias if there is shade and moisture for them and blue-flowered perennials or perennials with flowers in the cooler tones of pink and red look good too. Deep red hardy hibiscuses are fabulous with white-flowered companions in late summer.. Lots of potential there.. you need to decide on what look you want, what views you want to keep - or hide, and how much - and what kind - of maintenance you're prepared to do. Take some pictures of the area and doodle ideas on them to help get a feel for what you'd like. Have fun!