Rodgersia
Native to China and Japan, this spectacular genus will grow in ordinary garden soil, but give it a rich moist home along a pond, stream or marshy area and it will thrive. Rodgersias are fine structural specimens characterized by brownish black fleshy rhizomes, which remain visible through winter. The numerous unpetaled flowers, colored by intriguing creamy-salmon sepals and stamens, are borne on large panicles, and when in bud look almost like miniature cauliflowers. And, be warned! The textured, dark green leaves can spread to a foot across, so be sure to provide these plants with plenty of space.
Resembling the palmate leaves of a Horse Chestnut, the crinkled sheenful foliage of this esteemed species is tinted bronze and heavily veined. The 7 leaflets radiate from the center and shaggy brown hair covers the loosely-branched stalks, which hold captivating pyramidal flowers, ranging in color from porcelain white to muted pink.
Blooms June–mid-August
Size: 2-1/2' high x 3' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 5.
‘Chocolate Wings’s grace note is the dynamic varying hues that saturate its thick king-size foliage. First emerging in rich purplish chocolate tones, then morphing from green to bronze, the heavily veined 5-parted leaves offer a rubescent fall finale and later welcome winter with warm brown shades. This walloping Marco van Noort introduction volunteers additional springtime enticements: petite dark pink flowers carried on tall arching stems. (PPAF)
Blooms June–mid August
Size: 2' 0" – 3-1/2' high x 2' 0" – 3' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 5.
A harbinger of bold drama, ‘Die Stolze’ is prized for its impeccably handsome foliage and wide Astilbe-like floral towers. Large deep green pinnately compound leaves—bronzed when young and affixed to long petioles—entertain shiny pleated surfaces and toothed margins. Warmed by salmon shades, the branched flowering panicles feature rounded clustered buds and copious small starry pale pink flowers. As the sturdy blooms mature, their color deepens, imparting cozy russet hues and retaining their good looks well into October.
Blooms June – mid-August.
Size: 2-1/2' high x 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 5.
A sensational cultivar with prehistoric allure, ‘Superba’ premiers grandiose, heavily pleated pinnate foliage steeped in mahogany hues. New henna-toned stems initially unfurl like a fern, clasping the burnished Chestnut-style leaves that develop an emerald-green cast upon maturity. Perfect for fresh or dried cut arrangements, tall open panicles of clustered star-like bright pink flowers plus deep red stalks rise above the head-turning foliar presentation and captivate us well into fall.
Blooms June–August
Size: 3' 0" – 4' 0" high x 3' 0" – 4' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 5.
A topnotch foliage plant selected by Ernest Pagels, ‘Braunlaub’ delivers stylish bronzed leaves. Loose ivory-colored panicles reside high above the striking tactile clump composed of prominently veined compound leaves divided into 5 to 7 lobed leaflets with sharply serrated edges. Becoming dark green by midsummer and later transmuting brilliant copper and red autumn hues, this Rodgersia’s large richly colored foliage offsets refined plants like Carex ‘Oehme’ and Thalictrum ‘Elin’.
Blooms June–mid-August
Size: 2-1/2' high x 3' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 5.
A 1974 Ernest Pagels introduction, ‘Smaragd’ translates to emerald, aptly describing the eye-catching lime-green hues that brighten large tropical-looking leaflets. Jagged toothed margins, broad lobed tips and heavy venation further embellish the lush foliage beneath a marvelous summer display of alabaster-colored Astilbe-like flowers. Infused with cozy bronze tones when young, this somewhat smaller-sized cultivar recently earned a 4-star rating in the Chicago Botanical Garden trials for its consistently robust, winsome bearing.
Blooms June–mid-August
Size: 3' 0" high x 3' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 5.
A must-have foliage plant selected at Washington’s Bellevue Botanic Garden, this topnotch cultivar brandishes red-tinged chocolate-colored new growth. Open ivory-hued panicles rise high above the striking textural clump, composed of prominently veined compound leaves that are divided into 5 to 9 large leaflets with sharply serrated edges. The stylish richly tinted foliage turns dark green in midsummer, enhanced by occasional ruddy shades and come autumn, transmutes brilliant copper and maroon hues, offsetting fine-hewn plants like Carex ‘Oehme’ and Thalictrum ‘Elin’.
Blooms June–mid-August
Size: 4' 0" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
A stronghold of daring drama, ‘Rotlaub’ is prized for its newly emerging red leaves, considered the most vividly colored and longest lasting among the species. Defined by lanky petioles, shiny pleated surfaces and jagged edges, the big pinnately compound green foliage entertains bronze, henna and burgundy hues, intensifying as fall approaches. Admirable in the woodlands and in cut arrangements, its sturdy, branched blooming spires feature rounded clustered buds and copious, small starry porcelain-colored flowers, which impart warm russet hues as they age and retain their beauty well into October.
Blooms June–mid-August
Size: 4' 0" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
Named for its immense Elderberry-like foliage, this dramatic clump-forming perennial mosies throughout southwestern China’s moist meadows and woodlands. Substantial rhizomes nurture a grandiose foliar fete of pinnately-compound dark greenery, featuring 3 to 11 sharp-toothed and ribbed, 6 to 8 in. long lanceolate leaflets. Branched, close-knit Astilbe-style plumes dressed in creamy white and pale rose-colored flowers are the summertime icing on the cake!
Blooms June–mid August
Size: 2' 0" – 3' 0" high x 3' 0" wide.
Hardy to zone 4.
