HOW TO GROW SAXIFRAGA FORTUNEI

How to grow Saxifraga fortunei



Commonly and unimaginatively known as the 'Fortune Saxifrage', Saxifraga fortunei is a herbaceous perennial native to Japan, Korea and China. It was was first described in 1863 by English botanist William Jackson Hooker (1785 – 1865) from a Chinese collection and named in honour of renowned plant hunter Robert Fortune (1812 – 1880) who discovered it for western science.

How to grow Saxifraga fortunei
Incidentally, Robert Fortune is the man responsible for introducing tea plants from China to India, and William Hooker was Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The expected size of Saxifraga fortunei can be quite variable ranging from 7 cm to 40 cm in both height and width. The fleshy basal leaves are rounded, lobed at the margin, deep green on the surface and usually reddish beneath. Once mature, each leaf will grow to approximately 10 cm across.

The white, generally star-shaped blooms are approximately 2.5 cm wide and variable in shape. Each flower possesses short upper petals and 1 or 2 long, lower petals which are roughly twice as long as the upper ones. The flowers appear from late summer onwards in large open panicles.

Saxifraga fortunei is best planted in April and will perform best in a moist but well-drained soil. Provide a cool position in partial or full shade.
Main image credit - KENPEI Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.1 Japan License
In text image - Ghislain 118 CC BY-SA 3.0

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HOW TO GROW SAXIFRAGA FORTUNEI

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