Brunnera macrophylla 'Alexander's Great' PP 25,789
Alexander's Great Brunnera
Item #: 6251
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Brunnera 'Alexander's Great' is a look-alike of Brunnera 'Jack Frost', but this is a giant version from Belarus (that's part of the former USSR for those who flunked geography) plantsman Alexander Zukeivich, who found it as a seedling in his garden. Brunnera 'Alexander's Great' forms a large, bushel basket-sized 15" tall x 28" wide clump of lovely silver foliage...each fuzzy leaf highlighted by contrasting green veins and a narrow green edge. Clumps of Brunnera 'Alexander's Great' are topped with stalks of small, sky blue flowers in early spring. As with all brunneras, average to slightly moist, well-drained soils are best. You'll be sure to garner quite a bit of attention from garden visitors with a well-grown clump of the deciduous Brunnera 'Alexander's Great' in your garden.
Maintenance:
Brunnera is essentially maintenance free. If you're a neat freak, you may want to remove the old flower stalks when they finish in late spring, but if have the need to do this, you may also want to seek treatment for OCD. The clumps die to the ground in fall, and the old leaves will generally just fade away.
Despite what you sometimes read on-line, Brunnera macrophylla does not spread by rhizomes. It is a tight clumping perennial, although it can be divided after growing well for 3-5 years.
Growing Conditions:
Brunnera macrophylla prefers moist, well-drained soils for best performance in a light, open shade, woodland condition. Brunnera does not fair well in deep shade or shade that stays too dry for a longer period. Despite preferring a moist soil, brunnera does not like a waterlogged soil, which will cause the roots to rot.
Garden Value:
Brunnera is a great combination plant in the woodland garden to provide a bold-textured element in contrast to more fine textured plants like ferns and carex. The silver leaf color also adds a pop of color amongst green foliage.
Natural Impact:
Bees are the favored pollinators.
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Other Attributes
Genus: Brunnera
Flower Color: Blue
Leaf Color: Green , Silver/Grey , Variegated , Spotted/Speckled
Bloom Time: Spring
Container Role: Fillers
Garden Themes: Cottage Garden Plants , Fairy Garden Plants , Gnome Gardens , Living Wall , Night Gardens
Other: Butterfly Attracting Plants , Cut Flower Plants , Deer Resistant Plants , Giant Plants , Groundcovers , Pollinator Plants , Rabbit Resistant Plants , Rain Garden Plants , Colored Foliage , Patterned Foliage