BERGENIA-GROWN MOSTLY FOR ITS WONDERFUL FOLIAGE

One of my all-time favorite perennials is the BERGENIA.  Unlike most perennials, like hosta, bergenias are mostly grown for their beautiful, glossy, rounded, leathery leaves.  The foliage is evergreen and lasts through the winter, although it does get damaged in our harsh winters. The leaves are cabbage-like, and can be as long as 12 inches and as wide as 8 inches.  One of the most popular, the heart-leaved bergenia, and the kind I have, has 5-to 6-inch clusters of small, bell- or funnel-shaped rose-pink flowers, on top of tall, thick, ramrod-type stems that flower above the foliage.  It flowers in early spring, and when the flowers fade, just snip off the thick flower stems and enjoy the beautiful foliage the rest of the season.  As the fall approaches watch the beautiful transformation of fall color--to a reddish maroon.  They grow by thick, branching rhizomes that spread slowly into handsome clumps.  They grow best in partial or dappled shade, or in sun if the soil is evenly moist.  They are long-lived, non-invasive, and undemanding, and very easy to propagate by taking a section of the thick rhizome and planting it deep enough to support the big, heavy leaves, keeping it moist, but not wet, until it has successfully rooted.  You can do this any time, but I suggest early spring or fall.  Slugs like them, so you might need to scatter a slug bait to prevent that damage.  Other than that, I know of no other diseases or pests that bothers them.  I've planted mine among hosta, ferns, lungwort, forget-me-nots, and bleeding hearts at the front of the bed.  I highly recommend BERGENIA--definitely in my top 25 favorite perennials!!