Bronzeleaf rodgersia
Rodgersia podophylla · Saxifragaceae
Jagged leaflets, shaped like a duck's foot, open bronze, turn green, then colour copper-red in late summer; cream plumes rise above them.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 7
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers late June to mid July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around bronzeleaf rodgersia
The planner designed this bed around bronzeleaf rodgersia when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why bronzeleaf rodgersia stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bronzeleaf rodgersia × 1, bronze leaves
- 2 Blue moor grass × 8, purple
- 3 Woodland strawberry × 6, white
- 4 Blue wood aster × 5, lavender
- 5 Blue-stemmed goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 6 Coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry' × 5, pink
- 7 Snow crocus × 12, blue
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are fine and medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to blue-stemmed goldenrod (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 7 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Early colour comes from bulbs planted between the other plants: snow crocus and spring starflower. Heights step up from about 6 in at the front to 3 ft at the back.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bronzeleaf rodgersia goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
The best rodgersia for leaf colour. It spreads by rhizomes into a broad colony, a fine sight on the bank of a stream.
- Bronze foliage for moist shade
- Stream banks
- Large-scale groundcover in damp soil
What to plant with bronzeleaf rodgersia
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Ostrich fern: medium leaves against its bold ones.
- Japanese forest grass: fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Ligularia 'Britt-Marie Crawford': adds the flowers, early August to early September; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about bronzeleaf rodgersia
Does bronzeleaf rodgersia need sun or shade?
Bronzeleaf rodgersia grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does bronzeleaf rodgersia grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 7. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should bronzeleaf rodgersia be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (110 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bronzeleaf rodgersia plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is there a native plant like bronzeleaf rodgersia?
Bronzeleaf rodgersia is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Umbrella plant: the same job in a bed and the same size; belongs in the middle, not at the back, wants wet soil.
- Purple-stemmed royal fern: the same job in a bed and the same size; wants wet soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will bronzeleaf rodgersia spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads slowly by thick rhizomes into a wide colony in moist soil.
What does bronzeleaf rodgersia look like in winter?
Bronzeleaf rodgersia dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Rodgersia
- Featherleaf rodgersia Rodgersia pinnata 'Superba'
- Rodgersia Rodgersia aesculifolia
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to mid July; feathery plumes; cream, white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; bronze, green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 7
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.