Bergenia ‘Bizet’

A lesser known cultivar selected from a large number of seedlings of B. 'Ballawley' raised by Jim Archibald in 1976. It has thick, leathery, bright green leaves with a recurved margin and short coarse hairs, with good winter colour. In spring, carmine pink flowers appear on tall, branching stems held well above the foliage.

The cutting I received from Chris Hallsworth’s collection displays both strap-like leaves, as commonly seen in B. stracheyi, and more rounded, oval shaped leaves as seen in B. 'Ballawley'. This clone may be a hybrid of the two as descriptions from Hans Kramer and Aileen Stocks both describe a more compact 'Ballawley' plant.

Very rare today. Unfortunately, no longer available for sale. It may be found in gardens and specialist collections.