Description
Rodgersia pinnata ‘Buckland Beauty’
This excellent variety was introduced by Keith Wiley. Having occurred in the Garden House, Buckland Monachorum it was a self sown seedling from R.pinnata ‘Superba’ that proved to have much darker pink flowers than the parent. Flowers start off with a deep red bud, emerge a pale sugar pink and gradually fade through red to the deep maroon and highly ornamental persistent calyces. The emergent leaves are beautifully bronzed, fading a deep green. We find that the flowers are almost identical to our R.pinnata ‘Elegans’ but it has a leaf that is narrower in the segments.
Rodgersias are that most prized of plants, excellent foliage plants that provide an excellent performance from their flowers as well. They are most often seen in British gardens as a plant to grow by water, where they do look splendid. However they can also be grown in any site that is not too hot and dry. The largest lushest growth will be obtained on the wetter grown specimens.
The leaves of Rodgersias are deeply cut into lobes with a surface that is deeply rough and textured. Many types are tinted bronze when they emerge and can colour richly in the Autumn before being shed. The flowers are held on stiffly branched spikes, often well above the foliage and possessing a form that reminds me of a Japanese Pagoda. The flowers begin a little like a Bergenia’s but a mass of stamens renders them quite fluffy and plume-like. Once flowering is over. the flowering stems possess a beauty of their own that renders them worthy of being left on the plant for some time. This is particularly true in Rodgersia pinnata ‘Elegans’ where the stems and seed capsules are a rich reddy brown.
Rodgersia were named in honour of Admiral John Rodgers who captained the expedition to Japan in which Rodgersia podophylla was first collected.
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