Ask John Negus
John has been answering reader queries for 50 years
Can you identify this pretty spreader?
Q What is this flower, please? We have several of them in the garden.
Paul Loveday (via email)
A This pink-flowered plant is a variety of bergenia, also called elephant’s ear. Cheering late winter and early spring, bergenias normally carpet freely and repress weeds. If your bergenia outgrows its situation, cut it back to an accommodating size and use the prunings, which are often rooted, to furnish other sunny or lightly shaded areas in your garden.
Remove flowers before seeds set to channel energy into strong new growth.
Slugs and snails favour soft shoots, so examine plants regularly and remove these pests.
A native of China, India, Nepal and other Far Eastern countries, bergenias are very hardy. My favourite is ‘Bressingham White’, whose snowy blooms light up a dry shaded spot.
It is easy to take cuttings from bergenias. Using a clean knife, cut a rooted section of leaf from the base of
