Plant of the week: Bergenia - Garden Plants and Gardening Forum

Classic Gardening · 03-28-2008, 08:55 PM

This content is syndicated via RSS from the blog: Classic Gardening

Bergenia is feted to be one of the garden’s minor players. Never centre stage, never in a starring role, but a stalwart in crowd scenes.

I’m as guilty as anyone in overlooking it. There it has been, flowering all year under the lilac, and in the shady border beneath the hedge, without anyone taking a blind bit of notice of its efforts.

It oughtn’t to be overlooked. It is great for ground cover, especially in difficult shady areas, its waxy evergreen leaves keep things green, and its rhizomes mean it can withstand the toughest drought.

Some say its all leaf and no flower, but get the right varieties, such as rich red Rotblum which has leaves of a warm reddish hue in winter, or Bressingham whiteand you have a practical, useful and presentable plant

They are easy to propagate. Just chop off the bits that encroach, poke them in the soil where they are needed and they’ll be away. There are more Plants of the Week here.

03-28-2008, 08:55 PM	#1
Classic Gardening Green Thumb Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 92	Plant of the week: Bergenia This content is syndicated via RSS from the blog: Classic Gardening Bergenia is feted to be one of the garden’s minor players. Never centre stage, never in a starring role, but a stalwart in crowd scenes. I’m as guilty as anyone in overlooking it. There it has been, flowering all year under the lilac, and in the shady border beneath the hedge, without anyone taking a blind bit of notice of its efforts. It oughtn’t to be overlooked. It is great for ground cover, especially in difficult shady areas, its waxy evergreen leaves keep things green, and its rhizomes mean it can withstand the toughest drought. Some say its all leaf and no flower, but get the right varieties, such as rich red Rotblum which has leaves of a warm reddish hue in winter, or Bressingham whiteand you have a practical, useful and presentable plant They are easy to propagate. Just chop off the bits that encroach, poke them in the soil where they are needed and they’ll be away. There are more Plants of the Week here. Read More at Classic Gardening...

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