Rodgersia podophylla is a clump forming rhizomateous perennial native to Japan and Korea where it lives in moist soil along streams and in shaded woodlands. It is a bold plant and adds an architectural statement to a garden bed. The large deeply veined leaves are proabably its most prominant features and gardeners find them irresistable. They are one foot wide, bronze green in the spring, green in the summer, and red bronze in the fall. Each leaf is palmately compound with five to seven leaflets. The leaflets are shaped like duck’s feet with jagged edges and three to five lobes at the tip. The small creamy white flowers lack petals and are carried in panciles over one foot long well above the foliage in mid-summer. R. podophylla is an excellent choice for a bog garden or other wet sites but must be protected from the wind because of the large size of its leaves. The specific name, podophylla, comes from the Greek podos meaning foot, and phyllon maning leaf.
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Bloom: Dense panicles over 12 inches long of small apetalous creamy-white flowers in mid-summer
Size: 3-5′ H x 3-4′ W
Light: Part shade
Soil: Fertile, moist soil; does not tolerate drying out
Care: Deadhead
Hardiness: Zones 5-7
Pests and Diseases: Slugs, snails, powdery mildew
Propagation: Seed, division
Companion Plants:Ferns, hosta, Cimicifuga, Syneilesis