Featherleaf rodgersia
Rodgersia pinnata 'Superba' · Saxifragaceae
Heavily veined, bronze-tinted leaves, like those of a horse chestnut, and tall plumes of bright pink flowers that turn into dark red seed heads.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 7
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late June to late July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around featherleaf rodgersia
The planner designed this bed around featherleaf 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 featherleaf rodgersia stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Featherleaf rodgersia × 1, pink
- 2 Green-and-gold × 8, yellow
- 3 Blue moor grass × 8, purple
- 4 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 5, pink
- 5 Northern sea oats 'River Mist' × 3, green
- 6 Bowles' golden sedge × 3, chartreuse leaves
- 7 Snowdrop × 8, white
- 8 Double snowdrop × 8, white
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are medium and fine. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- The only plumes. The others are daisies, spires, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
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 Bowles' golden sedge (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
- In flower for six weeks. From late June to late July.
- Fills a gap. For five of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Snowdrop and double snowdrop come up between the other plants for colour early in the year. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 49 to 51, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 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 featherleaf 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.
A stately plant for moist soil in part shade. The leaves are bronze-purple when young, and the seed heads stay good until winter. Shelter it from wind.
- Bold foliage for moist shade
- Pond and stream sides
- Seed heads
What to plant with featherleaf rodgersia
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Astilbe: in flower together for five weeks, from late June; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Royal fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; medium leaves against its bold ones.
- Ligularia 'The Rocket': in flower together for four weeks, from early July; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about featherleaf rodgersia
Does featherleaf rodgersia need sun or shade?
Featherleaf 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 featherleaf 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.
When does featherleaf rodgersia flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should featherleaf rodgersia be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 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 featherleaf rodgersia plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 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.
What flowers after featherleaf rodgersia?
Featherleaf rodgersia is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall.
- Tiger lily: from late July to late August, 4 ft tall.
What does featherleaf rodgersia look like in winter?
Featherleaf 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
- Bronzeleaf rodgersia Rodgersia podophylla
- Rodgersia Rodgersia aesculifolia
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to late July; feathery plumes; pink
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; bronze, dark 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.