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OrnamentalgroundcoverStraightforward

Brunnera

Brunnera macrophylla

Sprays of small forget-me-not blue flowers in spring over large heart-shaped leaves, and in the silvered forms the leaves are the real point — they light up a shady corner all season. It stays where it is put, which distinguishes it from most of the other good shade groundcovers.

Position
Dappled shade or Partial shade or Full shade
Water
moderate demand
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Grows to
35–45 cm × 45–60 cm
Hardiness
H7
Flowers
April and May
Difficulty
Straightforward

August

Nothing to do

No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.

Coming next month: plant.

Brunnera’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

ActivityJFMAMJJASOND
PlantMarch. April. September.
In flowerApril. May.
DivideMarch. April.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light
Dappled shade, Partial shade, Full shade
Frost
Very hardy
Hardiness rating
H7 (RHS)
Grows best at
8–22 °C
Soil
Loam, Clay, Peat-free compost
Soil pH
5.5–7.5
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Water needs
moderate
Drought
poor tolerance
Waterlogging
moderate tolerance
Heat
poor tolerance
Wind and exposure
poor tolerance
Where these figures come from
LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Brunnera macrophylla — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

SoilVerdictWhy
Heavy clayPrefers this soilHeavy clay suits Brunnera as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Clay is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
SandyWorks, with one conditionBrunnera will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Chalky and alkalineWorks, with one conditionBrunnera will crop on chalky and alkaline, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
LoamPrefers this soilLoam suits Brunnera as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
SiltyGrows well hereBrunnera grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Peaty and acidGrows well hereBrunnera grows perfectly well on peaty and acid without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Shallow over rockWorks, with one conditionBrunnera will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Made ground and urban soilGrows well hereBrunnera grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height
35–45 cm
Mature spread
45–60 cm
Rooting depth
30 cm
Spacing
40–50 cm apart
Where these figures come from
Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera — spacing

Checked 2026-08-13

How far apart to plant brunneraThree brunnera plants drawn in a row at their recorded spacing of 40–50 cm between plants. The spacing is drawn to scale against a one metre rule; the plants themselves are symbols rather than scale drawings, so the distance between them is the part to read.40–50 cmone metre
Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

Habit and ultimate size

What the plant becomes, rather than what it is when you buy it. The gap between the two is where most planting mistakes live.

Foliage
Deciduous
In a container
Workable in a container, with conditions
Where these figures come from
FoliageSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera macrophylla — foliage

Checked 2026-08-13

In a containerHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

MethodSuitabilityWhat it needs
Open groundWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Traditional dug bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Raised bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

ContainerWorkable
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

  • PlantingGive the silver-leaved cultivars shade and shelter. The silvering is a thin surface layer that scorches in direct sun and in drying wind, and a plant that browns at the leaf edges by midsummer is almost always in too bright or too exposed a position rather than short of water.
  • PropagationDivide in spring. Note that the named silver cultivars must be divided rather than raised from seed — seedlings revert to plain green, and a self-sown plant beside a silver one is not the same plant.
Where this guidance comes from
PlantingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Brunnera macrophylla — position

Checked 2026-08-13

PropagationSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Brunnera macrophylla — propagation

Checked 2026-08-13

Four ways to make more plantsFour propagation operations compared, each showing where the separation is made and what must be present on both sides of it. Division: a clump cut between crowns, with roots and at least one growing point on every piece. Stem cutting: a shoot cut just below a leaf node, because the node is where roots form, with the lower leaves removed. Runner: a plantlet already rooting where it touches the ground, severed from the parent only after its own roots have taken. Offset: a young shoot at the base of the parent, separated with its own roots attached. In each case the cut is marked and the part that must be retained is labelled.Divisioncut between crownsroots on every piececut below a nodeStem cuttingroots form at the nodestrip the lower leavesRunnerlet it root firstthen sever the linkOffseta shoot at the basetake its roots with it
The rule is the same in all four: the new piece needs both a growing point and roots of its own. A cutting is the exception that has to make its roots afterwards, which is why the node matters so much.

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.

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