Plant Library

Other Names:  Heartleaf Brunnera, Siberian Bugloss

Brand:  Walters Gardens

Description:

This outstanding selection features large, silver-white, heart shaped leaves with contrasting dark green veins; baby blue flowers emerge in the spring; has increased heat tolerance; great for use in containers, borders or as groundcover

Ornamental Features

Sterling Silver Bugloss features airy cymes of sky blue flowers with yellow eyes at the ends of the stems from mid to late spring. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive large heart-shaped leaves remain silver in color with distinctive dark green veins throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Sterling Silver Bugloss is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sterling Silver Bugloss is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Sterling Silver Bugloss will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 20 inches apart. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Sterling Silver Bugloss is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.