Brunnera macrophylla 'Looking Glass'

BUGLOSS, FALSE FORGET-ME-NOT, GREAT FORGET-ME-NOT, PERENNIAL FORGET-ME-NOT
syn. Anchusa myosotidiflora, Brunnera myosotidifolia, Myosotis macrophylla
Family: Boraginaceae
Pronounced: BRUN-a-ra mak-ro-FIL-a

 

Quick Jumps

Growing Guide
Rainy Side Notes

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GROWING GUIDE

Origin:
Garden.
Plant Group:
Perennials.
Hardiness:
Sunset zones: 1-24.
USDA zones: 4-9.
Heat zones: 7-1.
Mature size:
Height: 12 inches (30 cm).
Width: 15 inches (38 cm).
Flowering period:
Mid to late spring.
Flowering attributes:
Forget-me-not type bright blue flowers.
Leaf attributes:
Heart-shaped, almost completely silver, with green veins, hairy leaves.
Growth habit:
Clump-forming.
Light:
Partial shade to full shade.
Soil:
Moist, fertile, humus rich, well-drained soil.
Feeding:
Side dress with compost or manure. Fertilize in spring with a complete organic fertilizer and again in early summer.
Propagation Methods:
Divide in spring or fall.
Root cuttings in winter.

 

Rainy Side Notes

Growing in light shade under my Cornus capitata(an evergreen dogwood, also commonly known as the Himalayan strawberry) is Brunnera 'Looking Glass'. This trouble-free perennial with large, heart-shaped, silver foliage is a 2006 Terra Nova introduction. A sport of Brunnera 'Jack Frost', ‘Looking Glass’ has more silver in its leaves, which lights up a shady garden. Like many plants in the borage family, the perennial flower mirrors the color of blue sky down onto the ground. Its sprays of forget-me-not-like flowers appear in mid spring.

Plant this soft haired, silver-leaved fox in front of dark green foliage, the juxtaposition will make this shade-loving knockout even more brilliant. Under the Himalayan strawberry tree, I planted ‘Looking Glass’ with spike moss (Selaginella kraussiana) and transplanted its cousin, a lungwort (Pulmonaria 'Mrs. Moon') nearby. Also in the same shaded area grows a wood fern (Dryopteris koldzumiana), Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost', shooting stars (Dodecatheon jeffreyi), Wallich's fern (Dryopteris wallichiana), Trillium stamineum, and Rhododendron 'Ebony Pearl' with the beautiful burgundy foliage.

Planted in a container, Brunnera ‘Looking Glass’ adjusts to confined quarters without missing a beat. As a filler, the plant gives a fine foliar performance throughout the growing season.

The genus Brunnera is named after Swiss botanist, Samuel Brunner (1790-1844). Its epithet macrophylla means large leaves. The species and its cultivars grow well west of the Cascades.

More Brunneras.

Debbie Teashon
Photographed in author's garden.