Bergenia purpurascens
| Bergenia purpurascens | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Bergenia purpurascens
Propagation: Seed - surface sow in a greenhouse. Make sure that the compost does not dry out. Two weeks cold stratification can speed up germination which usually takes 1 - 6 months at 15°c[1]. Fresh seed, sown as soon as it is ripe in late spring is liable to germinate better than stored seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in late spring after flowering[2] or in autumn[3]. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions whilst smaller clumps are best potted up and kept in a cold frame until they are growing away well.
Cultivation: Succeeds in full sun or light shade in most soils[1][3] but prefers a deep fertile soil that does not dry out fully[1]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Plants are at their best in a medium-heavy soil[4]. Requires a position sheltered from cold drying winds and from the early morning sun. The leaf colour is best when plants are grown in a poor soil in a sunny position[2].
Plants are hardy to about -20°c[5]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[6].
The different species of this genus will hybridise freely when grown near each other[6].
Range: E. Asia - Himalayas to China.
Habitat: On rocks and open slopes, 3600 - 4700 metres. in the Himalayas[7]. Forests, scrub, alpine meadows and alpine rock crevices at elevations of 2700 - 4800 metres in western China[8].
Medicinal: The root is astringent, styptic, tonic[9][10][11]. A safe and effective treatment for chronic bronchitis[11]. It is also used in the treatment of giddiness and general physical feebleness[9][10].
Extracts of the plant are antiseptic[11].
The plant is a source of the drug bergenin[8].
Usage: A useful ground cover plant, though rather slow to spread[12]. Plants form clumps[4].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg and Adam Stainton. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press, 1984.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Jingwei, Zhang and Ching-Wei Chang. Alpine Plants of China. Horizon Books, 1982.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Napier, Elspeth. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells, 1989.