Melinda's Garden Moment Radio Tips
Melinda Myers
Nationally known gardening expert, TV/Radio host, author & columnist with over 30 years of horticulture experience and tons of gardening information to share! www.melindamyers.comMelinda's Garden Moment videos will help you create that beautiful landscape you’ve always wanted. Each week throughout the growing season, a new gardening video will be added right here, so be sure to stop back. You can also watch Melinda’s Garden Moments on your local network TV station affiliate.
Brighten those moist shady spots in the landscape with the bold texture and creamy white or pink flowers of Rodgersia (Rogers flower).
The 18- to 24-inch-tall fragrant flowers resemble an astilbe and rise above the large leaves. Although the flowers are a great addition to the summer garden, many grow this shade-loving perennial for the bold texture its large leaves provide. Each leaf has seven leaflets or segments and resembles those of a horse chestnut tree. The dark green leaves with a bronze tint combine nicely with other shade loving perennials like hostas, astilbes, and ferns.
Keep the soil moist throughout the growing season to avoid scorch and brown leaf edges. As long as the soil is kept moist, the plants will tolerate more sun.
Give this plant plenty of room to reach its mature size of 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide.
A bit more information: Bronze Peacock Rodgersia has the darkest foliage of any of the varieties. The dark crinkled foliage makes a nice backdrop for the pink flowers. It is hardy in zones 5 to 8.