Ornamental · Boraginaceae
Brunnera
Brunnera macrophylla
Given shade and steady moisture, Brunnera spreads broad silvered leaves and sprays of tiny blue spring flowers across a dark corner.
Partial shade
USDA 3–8
12–18 in · 30–46 cm
Overview
Brunnera thrives in shade, and its broad heart-shaped leaves carry the display long after the flowers are gone. A clump-forming perennial in the borage family, also called Siberian bugloss, it creeps outward on a rhizome below the soil. In early spring it sends up thin, branching stems hung with small, five-petaled blue flowers, each so like a forget-me-not that the plant picked up the name false forget-me-not.
The leaves are the real spectacle. On the species they are plain matte green, but the popular kinds are washed in silver, traced with bright veins, or banded along the edges in creamy white, and that metallic sheen catches the faint light of a shaded bed. The clump stays low, around 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) tall, the large blades overlapping into a rounded, textured mound beside hostas and ferns.
Once rooted, it asks for little. Brunnera wants shade, rich soil, and steady moisture, and deer and rabbits leave its rough-textured leaves alone. The one thing it cannot take is heat and drought, which crisp the leaf margins to brown and leave the broad blades looking limp and tired by midsummer.
Care
The short version: part to full shade out of the hot afternoon sun, soil kept evenly moist and never bone dry, and rich ground under a layer of mulch that holds the moisture and keeps the roots cool.
Light
Brunnera is a true shade plant that wants part to full shade with shelter from the hot afternoon sun. Under direct light the leaf blades scorch brown and their silver and green colors bleach out. A dappled spot beneath trees keeps the foliage clean and richly marked.
Water
The soil should stay consistently and evenly moist, since Brunnera will not tolerate dry ground and its broad leaves wilt quickly without it. A mulch layer locks the moisture in and keeps the roots cool, which matters most through the heat of summer.
Soil
Brunnera roots best in fertile, organically rich loam that drains freely yet holds steady moisture around the rhizome. It accepts a wide pH range from 6.0 to 8.0, so most garden beds enriched with compost suit it.
Humidity
Ordinary garden humidity is enough, so no figure applies to it. What harms the leaves is hot, humid summers, the kind common in the deep South, where heat and moisture together wilt and wear the foliage down.
Feeding
Brunnera takes a light feed of balanced fertilizer through the growing season, or compost and organic matter dug into the soil each spring. Rich ground keeps the large leaf blades full and well colored.
Pruning
Scorched or tattered leaves are cut away as they appear, and the slender spent flower stems are trimmed once the blue blooms drop. In late fall or early spring, the old foliage is cut to the ground so fresh blades can push up clean.
Size & spacing
The clump rises to about 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) tall and widens slowly to 18 to 30 inches (46 to 76 cm) across. Given that room, the broad overlapping leaves close into a dense, rounded, ground-covering mound.
When to plant
Brunnera is a perennial, so once it is rooted in the ground there is no yearly replanting. New plants and divisions go in during the mild weather of spring or fall, and the slender flower stems rise from early to mid-spring before the broad leaves take over the display for the rest of the season.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Usually propagated by division rather than seed; sow indoors is not typical.
- Plant: Plant in spring or fall during mild weather to avoid heat or cold stress.
- Harvest: Blooms early to mid-spring (about April to May), sometimes into early summer.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Brunnera seldom gives trouble, and most of what does appear traces back to too much sun or too little water. The first signs show along the leaf margins and across the broad blades in high summer. Match what you see on the foliage to the entries below and act before the damage spreads.
Sagging leaves and a clump losing vigor in steamy heat
In hot, humid weather, the broad leaves go limp and the whole clump sags, a decline common across the deep South and any region where summers run warm. Deep shade and steady moisture through the heat keep the foliage turgid, and a thick mulch holds the root zone cool beneath it. The plant holds its leaves best in zones 3 to 8, so a cooler, shadier site keeps the clump firm and full.
Fix:
- Provide deep shade and consistent soil moisture in summer
- Mulch heavily to cool soil
- Grow in cooler microclimates or northern zones where possible
Papery browned rims and leaves faded to a dull green
When the leaf rims turn brittle and brown and the green pales to a dull, bleached cast, that is leaf scorch from too much hot sun or soil gone dry in the heat. Moving the plant into part to full shade out of the afternoon glare, holding the soil evenly moist, and laying down mulch lets it recover. Once the crisped leaves are cut away, smooth new ones unfurl to fill the gap.
Fix:
- Move or transplant to part to full shade with afternoon shade
- Keep soil consistently moist
- Mulch to cool and conserve soil moisture
- Remove badly scorched leaves to encourage fresh growth
Tattered perforations and glinting streaks across the leaf blades
Ragged holes punched through the broad leaf blades, with thin silvery streaks drying across the surface, are the mark of slugs and snails working the damp shade Brunnera loves. Picking them off the foliage by hand after dark clears the feeders. Raking out the wet mulch and leaf litter strips their cover, and iron phosphate bait handles any that keep returning to the leaves.
Fix:
- Handpick slugs and snails in the evening
- Reduce excess moisture and remove debris hiding spots
- Use iron phosphate slug bait if needed
Toxicity
For households with pets or children, the news is good: Brunnera is not toxic. It does not appear on the ASPCA's list of plants dangerous to cats or dogs, and there is no known hazard to other animals or to people. Its leaves and stems can be planted freely in a garden shared by pets and children.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
A cat nosing into the broad leaves comes to no harm, since Brunnera is absent from the ASPCA's toxic list.
Dogs None
A dog that bites through a leaf blade is in no danger, as the plant holds no toxin known to affect them.
Horses Safe
Horses grazing near the foliage face no poisoning risk.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits usually pass the leaves by, and a bite taken from a blade does them no harm.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can browse the leaves safely, though the foliage rarely tempts them.
Birds Safe
Birds are safe around it, with no toxin in the seeds or the leaf tissue.
People Safe
The leaves and stems carry no toxic compounds, so handling them and growing the plant around children is safe. It is an ornamental rather than food, so there is no reason to eat any part of it.
Varieties
Most gardeners grow Brunnera for the named foliage selections rather than the plain green species, prized for the way each one patterns its leaves. These are the ones seen most.
Jack Frost
Its leaves are frosted over with silver, broken only by a fine green margin and a network of green veins, on a plant about 12 to 15 inches tall.
Looking Glass
Its heart-shaped leaves wash over into an almost solid metallic silver, with scarcely a trace of green showing through.
Variegata
Its green leaves are banded with broad creamy white along the edges, reaching about 12 to 15 inches tall.
Alexander's Great
Its leaves are large and overlaid in silver, rimmed and veined in green, on a clump climbing to roughly 12 to 18 inches.
How to propagate
Brunnera multiplies through its creeping rhizome, so dividing an established clump is far easier than starting from seed.
DivisionEasy
Divide clumps in early spring or fall. · Usually establishes within one growing season.
Brunnera grows from a thick, creeping rhizome, and that fleshy underground stem is what makes division simple. A clump lifted in early spring or fall breaks into rooted sections that go straight back into the soil, and each piece roots and fills out within a single growing season. One caution: patented cultivars cannot be legally propagated, so the name is worth checking before any rhizome is cut.
Myths
Brunnera is just another forget-me-not.
The small blue flowers do mimic those of a forget-me-not, and false forget-me-not is one of its common names, but Brunnera macrophylla is a separate rhizomatous perennial in the borage family. The big, heart-shaped leaves are what set it apart, not the bloom, since it is no true Myosotis.
Strong, direct sun is what Brunnera needs for healthy growth and bloom.
Brunnera is a shade plant, suited to part to full shade with shelter from the hot afternoon sun. Strong sun does nothing for the flowers; instead, it scorches the leaf blades brown along their edges and bleaches their color.