No. I hate them (slug hotels).

But, a few years ago, I made the acquaintance of bergenia omeiensis - truly one of the most beautiful Asiatics I have ever seen. Hard to find, small and dainty but so, so different to its lumbering graceless cousins.

Any that don't produce those abysmally pink flowers! So that's a pretty short list :-) And they won't develop that attractive winter foliage color - one of the primary reasons for planting, IMO - without a fair amount of sunlight.

Here, though perhaps not in your warmer area, they look like death warmed over if snow isn't covering them in winter, a tattered, mottled brown and green mess. I would ask around your area or visit public or demo gardens or just start with one to see how they do in your area. Here they are hardy enough, but quite unattractive for a good chunk of the year.

I want to plant some too, I find their foliage is really pretty and I love their dainty flowers. Many people have them in their gardens in my area, they seem to perform well in my climate.

Yes another positive revue from me. I trim any tatty leaves in spring and enjoy them for the rest of the season. Some leaves turning brilliant red adds to the foliage effect in fall. I am not a huge fan of pink generally but I do like the bright pink flowers in spring.

I think they are a Marmite plant - love'em or hate 'em for our US friends, with no shades in-between. Beth Chatto, famously, claimed to be 'unable to garden without them'...while Christopher Lloyd shunned them in all their forms.

There are a few of these loved or loathed plants - phlomis, vinca and monarda come to mind - fairly sure I can think of more. Ah yes, dwarf conifers... although, as a gardener who came of age in the Bloom/Bressingham era, I have a sneaky fondness for them...but not with heathers.

The R.H.S. ran a trial of them 2007-9.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/planttrials/TrialReports/Bergenia%202007-2009.pdf

in Germany Bergenia was the perennial of the year 2017...

yes definetely Marmite plant,

when I did a planting design for a public planting the city person I talked with almost had a stroke when he read Bergenia on my list.

around here (mild z7, Europe) we hardly ever have snow, so the leaves look quite ok over the winter.

I love them for their endurance and because they grow in difficult spots

sometimes I walk throgh older settlements and often they have vast patches of ancient -and still kicking- Bergenia

use mostly tall, vigorous cultivars, and even candy pink flowers are fine in the inner city on a grey autumn morning (some flower in fall)

Mine didn't have any tatty leaves over the winter because deer ate them down to the ground. My quest for deer resistant evergreen perennials goes on...

Marmite plant. So funny! I had no idea it was a polarizing plant. I actually had no idea about any of the negatives mentioned above, to be honest. I wanted to try it to provide some leaf foliar interest in shape/structure. NHBabs, I am warmer than you, but in winter that just usually means my snow cover melts too fast. The area in which I would plant tends to have more snowcover merely because of the shade and plowman. I might buy just one and try it out. I would be targeting ones with green foliage. I do NOT like burgundy/red foliage. Don't know why, but it's my Marmite in a bad way. Many of them have the red foliage tendency. I like purple foliage, but I do not like bronzy red. Thanks for the honest and helpful info.

Monarda loathed or loved? That's news to me, unless the loathing is due to its spreading tendencies.

You might like 'Baby Doll'.

Thanks for the suggestion, Embothrium.

Has anyone tried Mukgenia, a hybrid of Bergenia and Mukdenia? I added this one to my garden last year and am anxious to see it if spring ever gets here! It has darker pink/ red Bergenia like flowers and the foliage has the red edge/flush of the Mukdenia Crimson Fans in the cooler weather. I only could find one pic from last year; unfortunately without the Crimson foliage. I would be interested to hear of anyone's experience with it.

Is your mukgenia up yet, Donna? I’m still waiting on mine. It was new last year and really didn’t do much.

Not up yet north53; hopefully it has survived because there was less than optimal snow cover this winter. Also haven't had any rain yet so things in general not looking too promising.

Would concur with Embo re.Baby Doll. The flower spike is less congested than many of the b.cordifolias and the pink lacks that lurid quality which puts some gardeners off - a more delicate plant I could probably bear to have in my garden.