Rodgersia La Blanche

The Rodgersia 'La Blanche', also known as Rodgersia pinnata 'La Blanche', is one of the most elegant hybrids, with its architectural and bushy habit, its palmate and glossy chestnut foliage tinged with red in autumn, topped by a remarkable pure white flowering in large cloudy panicles formed by tiny flowers. It is a large and majestic perennial, irreplaceable for enhancing an exotic atmosphere and illuminating a moist and shady location.

Rodgersias are large herbaceous and deciduous perennials, native to Korea, Japan, China, and Burma, belonging to the Saxifragaceae family. From the fleshy rhizome emerges a clump of large pinnate leaves. The clumps slowly spread to form stumps of over 1 m² over time. The 'La Blanche' variety stands out for its spectacular clump dimensions, reaching 1.75 m (6ft) in height and 1 m (3ft) in width. The thick foliage with prominent veins, palmate or pinnate, closely resembles that of chestnut trees and tends to turn red. The leaves are divided into 4 to 8 lanceolate, wrinkled, deeply veined leaflets, paired oppositely, with a terminal leaflet. 'La Blanche' flowers in July-August, producing its tall panicles, much taller than those of other varieties, adorned with pure white flowers that are delicately scented. The flowering is followed on the floral stems by the formation of dark, ornamental seed heads that persist on the plant for a long time.

Rodgersia 'La Blanche' is a shade and cool-loving plant, ideal near water features, in the company of ferns, grasses, and astilbes, or on the edge of moist woodlands with Tiarella and Heuchera. It tolerates drier conditions as long as it is planted in shade, but it also tolerates sun if the soil remains moist. Plant it in abundance to cover the ground along a shaded pathway, or as a solitary specimen, highlighted by a carpet of golden sedge, a clump of XXL Heuchera, and the blue flowers of hepaticas.