Rodgersia pinnata Chocolate Wings

Rodgersia pinnata 'Chocolate Wings' is a stunning perennial with a sumptuous architectural and bushy habit. It develops spreading palmate foliage of a chestnut colour, changing throughout the seasons. When it emerges, it is chocolate brown and evolves to green in early summer, culminating in bronze and then transitioning to deep red at the end of summer. With the arrival of autumn and the first frost, the chocolate brown pigmentation reappears. It produces pale-pink then burgundy-red flowers in summer. It is a superb perennial for wet and shady locations.

Rodgersia pinnata is a Chinese species belonging to the Saxifragaceae family. From its fleshy rhizome emerges a clump of large pinnate leaves, reaching a height of 1m (3ft) and a width of 60cm (24in). The clumps slowly spread to form stumps of over 1m² over time. The foliage of this perennial is distinguished by its resemblance to chestnut leaves. The leaves can reach a length of 90cm (35in) and are divided into 4 to 8 lanceolate, wrinkled, deeply veined leaflets, arranged opposite each other, with a terminal leaflet. What distinguishes the 'Chocolate Wings' cultivar is the changing hues of its foliage throughout the seasons. It goes from chocolate to green, bronze, and dark red before turning chocolate again and falling in winter. It chooses mid-summer to flower, sending up its large paniculate inflorescences with red stems, measuring 30 to 70cm (12 to 28in), adorned with pale-pink and then purple flowers.

Rodgersia pinnata 'Chocolate Wings' is a plant for shade and moist soils. It is ideal near water features, in the company of ferns, grasses, and astilbes, or along the edge of moist woodlands with tiarellas and heucheras. It can tolerate drier conditions, as long as it is planted in the shade. Plant it in groups to cover the ground along a shaded pathway, or as a solitary specimen, highlighted by a carpet of golden sagina and the blue flowers of liverworts.