You can experience how this no-trouble rhizomatous ground cover earned its common name if, following a rain, you rub a leaf between your fingers—but it is Bergenia’s fine firm foliage mass and waxy Saxifraga-like flowers that justifies its presence in the garden. With bold, rounded outlines, the great, glossy, and nearly evergreen, rich green leaves are a handsome backdrop for dense heads of fetching spring blooms that rise above the cabbage-looking rosette on stalwart red-tinted stems. In winter, leaves become tinged with burgundy and are most welcome in holiday arrangements. Bergenia endures neglect, poor soil and some drought, but performs best in part shade.
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