Container Grown Bergenia: Tips For Potted Bergenia Plant Care

Potted Pink Flowering Bergenia Plant
(Image credit: Akchamczuk)

Bergenias are gorgeous evergreen perennials that produce stunning spring flowers and brighten up autumn and winter gardens with their very attractive, colorful foliage. Can you grow bergenia in pots though? Keep reading to learn more about how to grow bergenia in a container.

Growing Bergenia in a Container

Can you grow bergenia in pots? The short answer is: absolutely! Bergenia plants are very well suited to container life. As long as the soil is kept relatively moist, bergenia thrives in pots. It will perform well in both sunny and shady spots. While its blooms are more impressive in richer soil, the color of its foliage tends to be better in less fertile conditions. This adaptability is good news for maintenance, it’s true, but it’s also very good news for companion planting. Since bergenia plants can thrive in so many different conditions, they can be asked to share a container with a very wide array of other, possibly fussier plants. Bergenia makes a fantastic container companion.

Container Grown Bergenia Companion Ideas

Bergenia plants are known both for their showy foliage and for their attractive flowers. This means that they pull their own weight in spring, summer, and autumn containers. (Since they are evergreens, they can even round out the year in winter arrangements). If you are following the Thriller Filler Spiller method of container planting, bergenia makes a great filler, making up the bulk of a container with attractive leaves that don’t fade like flowers do. For an autumn or winter container, try pairing your potted bergenia plant with red dogwood and red pansies– you’ll soon find yourself overrun with bright red color. For a spring arrangement that highlights your bergenia’s flowers, try planting it with mossy saxifrage.

Liz Baessler
Senior Editor

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.