Bergenia, Pigsqueak 'Bressingham Ruby'

I have grown this plant in my perennial bed for years, and it has never looked good. Most of the leaves are ruined during the winter. In ...Read Morethe spring, it sends up 2 stems of flowers. It never expands or looks healthy. After 10 years of failure to thrive, I am putting it out of its misery and replacing it with another plant. Note: I have never seen it look any better in other gardens in Northern Virginia.

This is a beautiful plant where well grown.

I have seen many in this area, and most do not thrive. It has never thrived fo...Read Morer me. In my experience, it seems to lack vigor in this climate (Boston Z6a).

This is grown for its evergreen foliage, which turns an attractive bronze/burgundy in cold weather, but winter damage to the leaves is considerable in most winters, spoiling the appearance even as far south as Z7.

I also rarely see plants without many disfiguring notches eaten from the edges of the leaves. I suspect black vine weevil is the culprit, and that it's in the pots at the nurseries. (Slugs and snails might be the cause, too.) Perhaps this, not climate, is the reason this plant usually fails to thrive here.

Called pigsqueak because of the sound you can make by rubbing a rubbery leaf just right between thumb and forefinger.

I am trying this plant for the first time.
The Deer Resistance is appealing to me here on the Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C. and t...Read Morehe leaves are interesting in a perrenial bed. It needs to be reasonably tough to the wind also.

My mother has this plant in her beds. It stayed a nice evergreen all winter and is very attractive. Hasn't been through a summer yet, b...Read Moreut I expect it will work out well.