Ripple Effect Bergenia - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Ripple Effect is grown for its massive, glossy green leaves, up to 13 inches wide, with wavy, serrated edges. It adds a bold, architectural look to shady gardens that few other perennials can match.

Unlike most bergenias, it is not evergreen and goes fully dormant after fall frost, returning each spring. It forms a robust clump about two feet tall and three feet wide, useful for softening pavement edges, filling shade borders or anchoring containers. White flowers appear in spring. Deer and rabbits tend to leave it alone.

What it looks like

Massive, nearly circular leaves up to 13 inches across, glossy bright green with wavy, rippled, finely serrated margins, held on thick stems in a bold rosette. In spring, clusters of white bell-shaped flowers rise on stout stems. The plant is a robust clump 26 to 28 inches tall and about 36 inches wide. At its best it is a dramatic mound of huge, rippled, shiny leaves.

Growing it with lavender

Ripple Effect needs shade and steady moisture, so place it in a shade garden or along a shaded walkway rather than in a sunny lavender bed.

Care

Grow in part to full shade in average to fertile soil with regular moisture. Hardy in USDA zones 5-8. It dies back completely after frost, so mark its spot; clean up old leaves in late fall or early spring.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Bergenia
• Flower color: White
• Foliage: Glossy bright green
• Growth habit: Robust, bold rosette
• Mature size: 26–28 in tall × 36 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 5–8
• Light: part sun to part shade, full shade
• Bloom start: Late-April
• Peak bloom: Early-May
• Bloom pattern: Single Flush
• Deer resistance: Resistant
• Pollinator value: Fair

Sizes and shipping

One full 72-cell plug tray: 72 young starter plugs of this variety (cells about 1⅓ in. wide × 2½ in. deep), rooted and ready to pot up into quarts or gallons. Best for growers and nurseries. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.