How to Grow Rodgersia Plants

Guide to Growing Rodgersflower and Feathered Bronze Leaf

Rodgersia are hardy perennials that range from 90 cm to 1.5 m (3 to 5 feet) in height.

Rodgersia plants have large compound leaves. They carry blooms of clustered small pink and white flowers atop long stalks.

Rodgers Bronze leaf picture

Rodgersia podophylla
Rodgersia podophylla by peganum.

Common names for Rodgersia include Rodgersflower, Rodgers' bronze leaf, and Feathered Bronze Leaf, though it is usually referred by its genus name.

Commonly Grown Rodgersia Species

Rodgersia pinnata

Rodgersia pinnata
Rodgersia pinnata (Featherleaf Rodgersia), photograph by Wendy Cutler; CC.

Rodgersia aesculifolia

Rodgersia aesculifolia
Rodgersia aesculifolia (Chestnut-leaved Rodgersia), picture by Babij; CC.

Rodgersia Growing and Care Guide

Common Names: Rodgersia (Fingerleaf; Chestnut-leaved), Rodgersflower.
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial.
Height: 36 to 60 inches (90—150 cm).
Native: Eastern Asia.
Growing Region: Zones 5 to 8.

Flowers: Late spring to summer.
Flower Details: Pink, creamy, white, red. Small. Curled clusters. Astilbe-like panicles.
Foliage: Herbaceous. Compound. Pinnate. Palmate. Veined. Turns red/bronze towards the end of summer.

Grow Outside:
Seeds: Surface. Autumn. Germination time: two weeks to two months. Temperature: 60°F (15°C). Use peat pots. Next sink the pots into the ground in an area that offers shade, preferably close to a wall that faces north. Provide a glass/plastic covering.
Keep an eye on the flats to ensure that the soil remains moist, and to check if seedlings have emerged.
Transfer to their final location with a spacing of 24 to 36 inches (60—90 cm) in spring or autumn, once they reach two-years old.
Rhizome: Cover. Autumn.

Requirements and care: Full sunlight or partial shade. Very moist or wet soil. Regular watering to maintain a very moist/boggy soil. Spring mulch. Propagate: by dividing in the spring.
Family: Saxifragaceae
Closely Related Species: Astilbe plants, Berginia, Cascadia, and Heuchera.
Miscellaneous: Great to use in boggy areas or along streams and ponds. The genus was named after the American explorer John Rodgers.

How to Grow Rodgersflower and other Rodgersia

Rodgersflower and other Rodgersia can either be grown from rhizomes or seeds.

The rhizomes should be buried barely below the soil surface.

Ideally they should grow in a sunny part of the garden (except in very hot climates; partial shade is recommended) that has a rich and very moist or wet soil.

It is not that easy to grow Rodgersia plants from seeds. The seeds should be sown on the surface in peat pots that are buried into a shaded area of the garden. The peat pots should then be covered in glass.

Germination should take place at about 15 degrees centigrade (59°F) and will take from two weeks to two months.

At all times the peat pots should be kept moist. As soon as the seeds germinate remove the glass. Transfer the Rodgersia plants to their final location after they have grown for about two years, in the autumn.

Caring for Rodgersflower in the garden

Rodgersia are not easy to care for. It is essential to keep the soil that plants grow in very moist, so water with regularly with abundance.

Also the soil should be cool, so apply a mulch in the spring time. You should also give them a feed in the spring.

If you require more Rodgersia plants, then propagate them by division in the spring.

I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Rodgersia. You may also enjoy the following growing guides: How to grow Berginia, Astilbe, Saxifrage, and Heuchera plants.