Bergenia, the cobbler’s plant

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Bergenia bestows a very beautiful blooming come winter and its hardiness is extreme.

Basic Bergenia facts

Name – Bergenia
Family – Saxifragaceae
Type – perennial

Height – 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm)
Exposure – full sun, part sun
Soil – ordinary

Flowering – December to April depending on the variety

A typical plant for rocky ground, edges, and flower beds.

Planting bergenia

Plant bergenia in fall to have it blooming during the month of December.

It is also possible to plant in spring if you’re able to water regularly at the beginning.

A sun-endowed spot in winter is crucial for your bergenia to bloom. However, since it needs shade during summer, the ideal setting for it is to grow at the foot of deciduous trees.

Bergenia doesn’t fear the cold nor does it fear freezing, this actually makes the color of its leaves more intense.

• You can blend a bit of special planting soil mix to your garden earth to increase fertility and thus the blooming.
• Take care though, because excessively rich soil might alter the blooming.
• Multiply through crown division during the months of March or April after the blooming.

Bergenia grows along a creeping rhizome, which makes it a plant that tends to nibble space up as years go by.

Pruning and caring for bergenia

The hardiness of Bergenia is very high, since it resists the lowest temperatures without any issue.

• Cut wilting flowers off as they die off.
• Eliminate withered leaves at the foot of the plant.
• Water in case of lack of rain.

If your bergenia doesn’t flower, this is probably due to the fact that the soil is too rich, and/or that it lacks direct sun in winter.

• If this is the case, you must transfer the location of your bergenia in fall.

Bergenia is very resistant to most diseases.

Learn more about bergenia

Native to China and Afghanistan, this is one of very few plants that blooms as early as December, and up until the end of winter.

This plant, also called the cobbler’s plant or elephant ears, forms amazing large, thick leaves and the cute flowers are clumped together to form a bunch.

With high levels of tannin compounds, the fact that cobblers used it to tan leather gave the plant its name of the “cobbler’s plant”.