Bergenia 'Eric Smith'
You can find the shiny bronze-red leaves of this useful ground cover plant in the Winter Garden at Rosemoor. This Bergenia provides excellent all year groundcover and contrasts well with feathery fern fronds and strap-like iris leaves. Add to this its reputation for excellent winter colour, a rich carmine-red under-surface to the leaves as they catch the low winter sun, and it's clear that it deserves a place in any garden as a year-round performer.
Vital statistics
- Common name
- Elephant's ears
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
- Height & spread
- Up to 45cm (18in) x 60cm (24in)
- Form
- Perennial
- Soil
- Humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil
- Aspect
- Full sun or partial shade
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy to -15C (5F)
Bergenia
Bergenia is a genus of 6-8 species of clump-forming evergreen perennials. They originate in the meadows, rocky moorland and moist woodlands of Central and Eastern Asia.
The genus is characterised by thick rhizomes, with distinctive rosettes of leathery, glossy leaves. Many colour well in the winter so are valued for their winter interest. Panicle-like cymes of funnel-shaped flowers are borne mainly in the spring.
Bergenia are ideal for a woodland garden but are also grown as a ground cover plant in borders. They are a good alternative to Hosta in drier, more exposed sites.
The name Bergenia was given to the genus by Conrad Moench in 1794 to honour the German botanist and physician Karl August von Bergen (1704-1759).
Bergenia 'Eric Smith'
Bergenia ‘Eric Smith’ is a vigorous perennial with rounded-ovate, puckered leaves, up to 20cm (8in) long. The leaves are a mid-green flushed with bronze, turning bronze-red in winter. The flowers are a deep coral-pink, borne on strong upright flower stems in mid to late spring.
Bergenia ‘Eric Smith’ was introduced by Beth Chatto in the 1970s who named it after the breeder. Eric Smith (1917-1986) was a friend of Beth Chatto and worked as a propagator between the 1960s and 1980s. He worked at Hillier's Nurseries for several years and was later associated with several famous gardens including Hadspen House.
Cultivation
Bergenia ‘Eric Smith’ is best grown in humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, in full sun or partial shade. Bergenia will tolerate exposure and poor soils, but most dislike extremes of heat and drought. Their winter leaf colour is enhanced by less fertile soil, but flowers and spring foliage are better on richer soils.
Bergenia should be mulched in the autumn to feed and reduce moisture loss. Early flowers may be damaged by frost and some species may die back in winter.
Bergenia are susceptible to slugs, snails and some caterpillars. Other problems that may be encountered are vine weevil and leaf spot. The rhizomes can be affected by dry brown rot.
Propagation
As plants raised from seed do not come true, Bergenia are best propagated by division of clumps or root rhizome sections. This can be carried out every 3-5 years in autumn or spring with clumps that have started to deteriorate.
Sections taken from young rhizomes can be rooted after flowering or in the autumn. Sections are taken with one or more leaf rosettes. These should be placed in a sand frame or open ground.