Brunnera macrophylla ‘Sea Heart’ is a great perennial addition to the part-shade to full shade perennial garden.
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Sea Heart’ is a great perennial addition to the part-shade to full shade perennial garden. This cultivar has season-long attributes that extend well beyond its’ early spring bloom season. Sprays of delicate, 18” blue Forget-me-not flowers appear in spring and remain colorful for about 4 weeks. The flowers fade by early June and the focus then turns to the striking foliar display that persists for the remainder of the growing season.
The large, thick, heart-shaped leaves are green-on-silver with very pronounced veining. The leaves become larger shortly after flowering ceases. The thickness of the leaves help prevent this cultivar from scorching during dry conditions often encountered during the summer months. This cultivar will attain a maximum height of about 12” and can gradually widen to 18” at maturity. Under ideal growing conditions this plant can self sow and produce some seedlings although they are often times not variegated.
Ideal growing conditions for brunneras would be a rich, well-drained soil in a part to full shade environment. If the plants are grown in full sun, some wilting during mid-afternoon may occur and some leaf scorch may develop during the hottest part of the summer.
Brunneras are very hardy and long-lived perennials in this part of Wisconsin. They are hardy to Zone 4. We also offer three other cultivars of Brunnera at Rose-Hill Gardens. ‘Jack Frost’ and ‘Alexander the Great’ are similar cultivars in appearance. Brunnera ‘Variegata’ has a totally different look as it has green and white leaves. All four cultivars have very similar flowers and growth characteristics.
We have a good supply of all four cultivars at this time. They retail for $12.95 per pot.