Featherleaf rodgersia

Featherleaf rodgersia: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Broad clump about 1 m tall in flower and 80 cm wide, slowly spreading by underground rhizomes.

Leaves

Divided into five to nine long, deeply veined leaflets; glossy green and often bronze.

Flower

Sturdy, branched plumes of small flowers above the leaves, in July and August.

Colour

Pink, red or white, depending on the cultivar.

Fruit

Red-brown seed capsules that keep the plumes attractive into autumn.

Roots

Thick, creeping rhizomes just below the soil surface.

Flowering: July–August · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: March

Why grow it?

• Striking, glossy leaves that give structure from spring to autumn.
• Plumes of pink, red or white in July and August, visited by bees.
• The seed heads turn red-brown and stay attractive into autumn.
• A star plant for wet soil beside a pond or stream, in half shade or shade.
• Slowly spreads into a sturdy clump without becoming invasive.

Featherleaf rodgersia: where does it grow best?

• Half shade or shade; in sun only if the soil stays really wet, otherwise the leaves scorch.
• Humus-rich loam, clay or peaty soil, acid to neutral.
• Moist to wet: ideal at a pond edge, along a stream or in a bog border.
• Sheltered from strong wind, which tears and dries the large leaves.
• Plant 70–80 cm apart.

Light

Partial shade and shade

Soil type

Loam, clay or peat

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Wet

Size

1 m tall, 0.8 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Japanese primrose: Whorls of flowers in May and June, before the rodgersia flowers, on the same wet soil.
• Hosta: Large, plain leaves as a calm contrast to the divided foliage.
• Astilbe: A relative with finer plumes in the same colours.
• Ostrich fern: Fine, fresh green fronds for a wet, shady corner.
• Siberian iris: Narrow, upright leaves beside the broad foliage.

Featherleaf rodgersia: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or in September–October.
2. Work plenty of leaf mould or well-rotted compost into the soil.
3. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot; lay a bare rhizome horizontally, with the buds 2–3 cm below the surface.
4. Leave 70–80 cm between it and other plants.
5. Water well straight away and keep the soil moist until it has settled in.
6. Spread a layer of leaf mould or wood chips around the plant.

Care

Water

Never let it dry out. Water generously in dry spells, even beside a pond.

Feeding

In spring a layer of compost or well-rotted manure.

Mulching

A thick layer of leaf mould keeps the soil cool and moist.

Spent flowers

Leave the plumes: they turn red-brown and stay attractive into autumn.

Leave in peace

It does not need dividing and can stay in the same place for years.

Tip: Put it where you can see the leaves up close, such as along a path by the pond: the bronze tints in spring are at least as beautiful as the flowers.

Featherleaf rodgersia: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March.

When: One tidy-up a year is enough: in March, before the new leaves emerge.

How:

• Cut the old leaf stalks and seed heads off just above the ground.
• Watch out for the fat buds on the rhizome and do not damage them.
• Leave the dead leaves in place over winter: they protect the buds from frost.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In March–April, cut off a piece of rhizome with at least one bud and replant it straight away, or split the whole clump with a spade.

Seed

Sow in a pot in autumn or spring. Seedlings take a few years to flower.

Featherleaf rodgersia: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Hardy to about −25 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• The young leaves are sensitive to late frost in April; cover the emerging buds with fleece or a little straw when frost is forecast.
• Leave the dead leaves until March as winter protection.

Diseases and pests

• Brown leaf edges: Caused by drought, strong sun or wind. Water, mulch and choose a shadier, more sheltered spot.
• Frost damage: Black or limp young leaves after a night frost. Cut off the damaged leaves; new ones usually follow.
• Slugs: Sometimes eat the young leaves in spring. Pick them off in the evening.
• Vine weevil: Half-moon notches in the leaf edges from the adults, wilting from grubs feeding on the roots. Use nematodes against the grubs.

Through the year

• March: Cut off old leaf stalks and seed heads. Plant and divide.
• April: New bronze leaves unfurl. Protect from late frost.
• May: Give compost or mulch. Water in dry spells.
• June: Flower plumes appear. Never let it dry out.
• July: Flowering starts.
• August: Full flower. Water generously in dry spells.
• September: Red-brown seed heads. Plant.
• October: Plant. Leave the seed heads standing.
• November: Leave the dead leaves as winter protection.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The genus is named after the American admiral John Rodgers, who led a nineteenth-century expedition on which the first Rodgersia was found.
• Rodgersia is related to astilbe and saxifrage: all members of the saxifrage family.
• The little flowers usually have no true petals: the colour comes from the sepals.