Rodgersia
Rodgersia aesculifolia ·
Huge, crinkled leaves shaped like those of a horse chestnut, often flushed bronze, with tall plumes of creamy flowers in early summer. It needs moist soil and shelter.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 7
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late June to mid July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around rodgersia
The planner designed this bed around rodgersia when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why rodgersia stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Rodgersia × 1, white
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 35, yellow
- 3 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 8, tan
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 5, purple
- 6 Foamy bells 'Sweet Tea' × 3, bronze leaves
- 7 Blue-stemmed goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 8 Easter lily × 3, white
- 9 Camassia × 4, blue
- 10 Red spider lily × 7, red
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants 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 white mugwort (5 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 five weeks. From late June to mid July.
- In company. With moor grass 'Greenlee' and Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' in late June: 3 kinds at once.
Planned as an English border: 11 of the 12 groups (92%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering is at its height in late May, with 4 kinds out together. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 50 to 50, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where rodgersia goes in a border
At 4 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 boldest leaf that is hardy in a cold garden. Use it as the big, calm shape beside feathery astilbes and ferns. The leaves scorch in dry soil or wind.
- Dramatic foliage beside water
- Moist, sheltered shade
- A substitute for a shrub
What to plant with 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.
- Hosta 'Sum and Substance': its chartreuse leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
- Ostrich fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; medium leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about rodgersia
Does rodgersia need sun or shade?
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 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 rodgersia flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid 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 rodgersia be planted?
3½ ft (100 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 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many rodgersia plants do I need?
At 3½ 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
- 3 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 rodgersia?
Rodgersia is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Goat's beard: the same job in a bed; 12 in taller, flowers early June to late June.
- White false indigo: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in narrower, flowers late May to late June.
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway': the same job in a bed; 24 in taller, 4 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after rodgersia?
Rodgersia is over by mid 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, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does rodgersia look like in winter?
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
- Featherleaf rodgersia Rodgersia pinnata 'Superba'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to mid July; feathery plumes; white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 7
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
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.