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Gardeners, when creating a unique site design, are interested in various ornamental plants. Therefore, a photo and description of the bergenia flower will be useful when choosing varietal plants and will help to successfully place them in the garden.
Saxifraga with colorful bells will not leave anyone indifferent
Full description of the plant
Bergenia is a perennial. This is a herbaceous plant from the Saxifraga family. Prefers low rocky places and meadows. There are about 10 species of them in nature, among them is common bergenia. Under natural conditions it is found in Central Asia, China, and Afghanistan. Thanks to its decorative properties, gardeners liked saxifrage, so the wild plant became a cultivated plant.
Description of the bush
A description and photo will help you understand the characteristics of the bergenia plant. This is a low-growing shrub, its height depends on the type and variety.The evergreen plant has a powerful root system, several meters long. She is dark brown in color. The diameter of the main root is about 3.5 cm.
Saxifraga is represented by low-growing shrubs that are highly decorative all year round. This is an evergreen plant. A large number of growth buds are formed on the branched rhizome. They are close to the surface of the earth. Bergenia grows in one place for more than 10 years.
Leaves
Leaf blades are round or broadly elliptical. They fit tightly, the basal rosette is large. They reach a length of 3-35 cm, a width from 2.5 to 30 cm. In spring and summer, the leaves are dark green. In autumn, the colors change and bizarre patterns appear on the plates. The color palette depends on the type and variety of bergenia.
Features of flowering
The buds do not have bracts. They are small, represented by a paniculate-corymbose inflorescence. The bell-shaped buds are small, no more than 2 cm in diameter. When flowering begins, the petioles are short. Therefore, it seems that the buds lie directly on the leaves. Then the legs become longer, the inflorescences bend a little.
The color palette of buds is wide. There are varieties with pink, lilac, white, cream, and purple shades. The flowers exude an amazing sweet aroma that attracts bees and butterflies. Up to 5 butterflies can be seen on one plant. Flowering begins in May and continues until July.
The buds do not bloom at the same time, so the shield remains a garden decoration for a long time
Varieties of bergenia
The beauty of wild bergenia has captivated breeders.On its basis, various types and varieties have been created; descriptions and photos will help you understand the culture. There is bergenia with different colors of leaves and buds. The timing of flowering, which is very important when designing a site.
Pacific
The height of saxifrage is more than 50 cm. The ocher-colored peduncle stretches up to 40 cm, on which small bells of purple or deep pink color bloom. The oval leaf blades are green and leathery. The edges are uneven and slightly jagged.
In autumn, the leaves of the Pacific species, the diameter of which reaches 20 cm, change color and become burgundy.
Ciliated
This type of bergenia has large (about 35 cm), rounded leaf blades. In spring and summer they are green, turning light burgundy in autumn.
The peduncles are long, growing up to 30 cm. The buds are large, pale pink, with a reddish tint, collected in dense shields. Many gardeners grow the plant specifically for cutting.
At temperatures below + 18 ° C, ciliated bergenia sheds its leaves
The eyelash look is especially beautiful in the morning, dew drops shimmer on the eyelashes
thick-leaved
Bergenia thickleaf is called Mongolian tea, saxifrage. The bushes are small and compact. Their height is about half a meter. Stems are burgundy. The species is distinguished by thick leathery leaves that form a powerful rosette. In autumn, the greenness of the plates changes, they become red or crimson.
It blooms early, already at the end of May. The paniculate inflorescences consist of small purple and pink buds. The bush retains its beauty for about 30 days. By autumn, a box with seeds will form.
The first inflorescences of the thick-leaved species bloom early, before the appearance of young leaves
Strechi
Saxifraga Strechi grows naturally in Tibet. This is one of the smallest species. The height of an adult bush is slightly higher than 15 cm. The size of the glossy green elliptical plates is small. Their length is 10 cm, width 5 cm. The edges of the leaves have clearly visible teeth.
The flower stalks are powerful, growing up to 30 cm. The purple buds are collected in large corymbs. Flowering lasts about a month.
Saxifraga Strechi is unpretentious and frost-resistant
Schmidt
This species is grown in almost any garden in Europe. Appeared due to cross-pollination of thick-leaved and ciliated bergenia. The ellipse-shaped leaves are dense and have a matte surface. The length of the plate is about 25, width is 15 cm. The edges are serrated.
Schmidt's bergenia has beautiful elliptical foliage with a dense matte surface. The leaf reaches 25 cm in length, about 15 cm in width, and the edge of the plate is jagged. After the inflorescences wither, the leaves begin to grow again. In autumn the records turn purple. They do not fall off and overwinter under the snow.
Only the Schmidt variety has wing-like processes near the petiole
Dense inflorescences consist of purple or pink petals, the diameter of which is about 0.5 cm. Each of them forms a capsule with seeds.
Cordifolia
The cordifolia species, or Cordifolia, has been known since the 18th century. This saxifrage is a medicinal crop.
The plant got its name from the unique shape of its leaves. The height of the bush is within 40 cm. The buds bloom in May.The lilac-pink inflorescences delight the eye for about a month.
There are varieties of heart-shaped saxifrage that have white petals
Variegated
The species received its unusual name for the variegated color of its leaves. It is especially pronounced when planted in sunny places. The plates are large and leathery. White strokes are clearly visible on each sheet. They are green in winter and turn red in autumn. Flowering begins in May and continues in June. Pink bells.
The rarest of the variegated bergenias is the variety Galina Serova
Hybrid varieties of bergenia
Most of the hybrid varieties of bergenia are the product of German selection. The basis for many of them was the heart-leaved appearance. Some hybrids bloom 2 times per season: May-June and July-August.
Badan Spring Fling
Bergenia Spring Flint (Spring Fling) is a low saxifrage with a powerful root system, no more than 30 cm in height. Flowering begins in the spring. The buds are bright pink.
The green, leathery leaves of Spring Flint turn purplish red in autumn.
Badan Baby Doll
Bergenia Baby Doll, shown in the photo below, is great for growing in pots and in open ground. Many gardeners use them for cutting. Bergenia Baby Doll is an unpretentious plant with bright green leaf blades.
Baby Doll's soft pink bell-shaped buds look decorative against the background of large leaves
Badan Angel Kiss
The height of Angel Kiss bergenia is no more than 40 cm. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with large green leaves that turn reddish or purple in autumn.The decorative effect lasts from spring until frost, even in partial shade. The variety is distinguished by good frost resistance and unpretentiousness.
The buds are semi-double cream or white-pink in color. There is a red eye in the center.
Bergenia Angel Kiss is widely used in the design of mixborders, rockeries, and rocky gardens. Looks great against the background of coniferous trees and shrubs.
You can use Angel Kiss bergenia to create various flower arrangements.
Badan Morgenrote
This hybrid belongs to remontant plants. It blooms twice: in spring and early summer, then in August until mid-September. Bergenia Morgenrote grows up to 40-45 cm. The leaf blades are large. In spring and summer they are green, in autumn they turn red. Pink buds look great against the background of green leaves.
The thyroid inflorescences of the Morgenrote hybrid do not bloom immediately, but gradually
Bergenia Pink Dragonfly
Saxifraga Pink Dragonfly is distinguished by small narrow leaf blades. The upper part is dark green, the lower part is purple. In autumn, the leaves take on a crimson or purple hue. The decorative effect is best seen when planted in a sunny place or in partial shade. The soil must be fertile and drained. It is on this soil that the petals of bergenia buds acquire a rich pink color.
The variety is used to decorate rockeries and mixborders. Bergenia is often used when decorating borders or as a ground cover plant.
The edges of the petals of the Pink Dragonfly bergenia are lighter than the core
Badan Beauty
The Beauty variety is an ornamental shrub and an evergreen perennial. The bush is up to 60 cm high. The root system is powerful, so the plant grows a large number of leaves. The plates are round in shape with pronounced veins.
Bergenia blooms in the spring and pleases the eye for a month. The inflorescences are located on dark brown shoots and are bell-shaped. Petals are red-pink. Can be planted individually or in groups, in rockeries, in mixborders. Looks great against the backdrop of various garden crops. Neighbors of saxifrage can be:
- daylilies and aquilegias;
- astilbe and irises;
- speedwell and geranium;
- ferns and sedges;
- balsams.
Coniferous plants perfectly shade the Beauty variety
Badan Bah
Saxifraga Bach is a representative of the Dutch selection. The plant is a winter-hardy crop. Bergenia is not tall, the bush grows up to 30-40 cm. The leaf blades are round in shape. Their color is green-brown in spring, becoming purple in autumn.
It forms dense corymbose buds in May and blooms for a month. White bells do not bloom immediately, so the inflorescences remain decorative for a long time.
In the middle of the white bergenia flower Bach there is a dark pink center, which gives it a special decorative effect.
Badan Beethoven
The evergreen shrub variety Beethoven grows up to 40 cm. Reddish shoots with inflorescences are 10-15 cm higher, they rise above the green leaves, which darken in autumn. Flowering begins in early spring, the petals of the bell-shaped buds are pinkish-white.
In the Beethoven variety, the bells open completely and look like apple blossoms
Badan Magic Giant
Saxifraga variety Magic Giant is a relatively low evergreen plant. The herbaceous shrub does not exceed 40 cm. The leaf blades are round and large. The surface is glossy. The leaves are purple throughout the season. In autumn they acquire a bronze tint. The buds form and bloom in May.The inflorescences are crowded, the flowers are bell-shaped and pink in color. An excellent option for pot growing. Does well in the shade.
The Magic Giant variety is frost-resistant; Siberians prefer to grow it
Badan Abendglut
Saxifraga Abendglut is a compact shrub. Peduncles grow no more than 30 cm. The rosette is low and consists of bright green leaves. In autumn they become chocolate-bronze. This is an early flowering variety, buds appear in April. Peduncles are thick, reddish in color. Semi-double buds of a purple hue bloom on them.
Bergenia Abendglut can be planted in the sun, but in the shade the flowering is much more luxuriant
Badan Red Star
Saxifraga Red Star can be planted not only individually, but also in company with other garden crops, including next to trees and shrubs. Leathery leaf blades are dark green in color with clearly visible waves along the edges. The buds in the inflorescence are carmine pink.
The height of the Red Star variety is within half a meter
Badan Atropurpurea
Bergenia Atropurpurea has medium-sized leaves. The blades are bright green in spring and autumn, with yellowish veins. The peduncles are carmine in color, with dark pink bell buds forming on them.
You can plant bergenia Atropurpurea along garden paths
Application in landscape design
Gardeners who have been practicing bergenia for many years now widely use the plant to create various flower arrangements. Not only the flowers attract with their beauty, but also the amazing palette of leaves.Moreover, these ornamental bushes can coexist with almost all garden crops, not only herbaceous ones, but also trees and conifers.
Bergenia clumps look good on lawns next to brightly flowering plants
Perennials feel good near artificial ponds
Low-growing saxifrage can be grown in pots and flowerpots
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of the bergenia flower are especially necessary for beginning gardeners. If you follow the recommendations for care and cultivation, you can get plants in your garden that do not lose their decorative properties even after flowering has ended.
