Heucheras

Heucheras, commonly referred to as “Coral Bells” or “Alum Root” are a popular perennial choice for container plantings and garden beds. Breeders continue to bring exciting new varieties to consumers that offer a wide variety of leaf shapes and textures and exciting colors. Although heucheras do bloom (tiny sprays of airy blooms atop tall, thin stalks), the main attraction are the colorful leaves that range from purples and burgundies to lime green and shades of yellow.

How to Grow Them – Generally thought of as a woodland garden plants, huecheras can actually grow in full sun here in the Pacific Northwest. However, lighter colored shades, like yellow and soft greens, tend to bleach out in afternoon sun.  If you are planting them in the ground, they prefer a soil that is light and well-drained. These are hardy plants that can withstand freezing temperatures but they must have good drainage to survive our moist winters. So, if your soil is heavy (and typical clay-type soils in this area are), amend the planting hole with compost or our 3-way mix. 

Watering & Fertilizing– Once established, these are fairly drought-tolerant plants and one deep watering per week during the active growing season should be sufficient. Of course, container pots need more frequent watering, often daily, to perform their best. Huecheras are not heavy feeders and adding a granular fertilizer at planting time (such as Osmocote) will be adequate. 

Maintenance – These are not particularly demanding plants. You can keep them looking good by pinching off old flower stalks at the base and remove leaves that are looking bad. The plants sometimes have a tendency to heave a bit out of the ground. If this happens, add soil to cover the ground to just below the crown. In spring, cut the leaves back to ground level. You may see that your heuchera has increased in size and new pieces have developed. These can be cut away with a gardening knife and replanted.

We have a large selection of huecheras at Yard n Garden Land. Here are just a few:

‘Fire Alarm’

‘Red Lightning’

‘Sweet Tea’

‘Plum Pudding’ (Courtesy Monrovia)

‘Marmalade’

‘Forever Purple’ (Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries)

‘Obsidian’ (Photo Terra Nova Nurseries)

‘Green Spice’

‘Berry Smoothie’ (Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries)

Photos by Phillip Oliver (unless noted otherwise)