2008 Year in Review

The New Look in Heucheras

Heucheras or coral bells are a group of plants that are native to New England up to western Canada and down into Mexico, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.

"In general, they tend to grow in tight mounds of foliage and produce small green to white flowers in summer," said Greg Stack. "Gardeners now know heucheras as plants that have incredibly colorful foliage. But when heucheras were first introduced to the gardening public you could get any color of heuchera you wanted so long as it had green leaves. "How times have changed! With the help of dedicated plant breeders, this group of plants has come a long way."

The heuchera revolution started when new forms were introduced in the 1990s. Hybrids between the old standard 'Palace Purple' and 'Dale's Selection' provided the basis for the introduction of many strikingly beautiful cultivars that offered color and variegation not seen in the original species.

Heuchera were also plants that tended to prefer shaded, cooler gardens. Here is where the most dramatic work in heucheras has come with the introduction of heucheras that can withstand more sun, heat, and humidity and still look good.

"Enter Heuchera villosa," Stack said. "This heuchera is a native species found in the Southeast. Compared to other heuchera it is larger, with rounded leaves resembling maple foliage, later to bloom, tolerant of more heat and humidity, and does well in dappled shade to sun.

"By combining some of villosa's outstanding traits with other heuchera, breeders have been able to give the gardening world a whole new group of heucheras. These heuchera hold up well to heat and humidity and are often very large plants with very large leaves. These new villosa hybrids tolerate a wider range of soil conditions and tolerate heavier soils and root competition. They still won't tolerate poorly drained soils though."

Stack offered a few heucheras that have villosa blood in them along with a description to wet your appetite.

'Beaujolais' has huge burgundy leaves with a touch of silver and deep purple veins. It is an incredibly vigorous and large variety. It produces near-white flowers in summer.

'Georgia Peach' is a very heat and humidity tolerant variety. It has huge peach-colored leaves with silver blotches. It grows to about 24 inches wide.

'Pistache' is a robust grower with large lime green to chartreuse yellow foliage. 'Pistache' is one of the more stable yellow varieties as it does not tend to fade in the sun.

'Tiramisu' is a very compact grower. The foliage in both spring and fall is chartreuse with brick red coloration radiating out from the center of the leaf. In summer the leaves lighten to chartreuse with a silver tone.

'Sparking Burgundy' has giant six inch leaves that are a clear roseburgundy color. It produces white flowers in the summer, and as fall approaches the leaves turn a dark rich red wine color.

Brulee' is a very vigorous grower even in full sun locations. Peachy orange leaves are produced on 18 inch wide plants. In summer, creamy yellow flowers are produced.

"While the villosa hybrids bring a more vigorous, heat-tolerant plant to the garden that adapts to part to full sun, they still need some care if planted in sunnier locations," he noted. "Here they need a bit more moisture to look their best and maybe a little protection from midday sun."

Heucheras in general do best in soils that are well amended with organic matter and are well drained with an emphasis on well drained. Heuchera have a very fine fibrous root system that does not fare too well in wet soils, especially during the winter. Wet winter soils also lend to frost heaving.

"The alternate freezing and thawing cycles will literally push the plant out of the ground," he said. "To combat this, pick a well-drained site and in the fall put down a layer of compost around the plants. In the spring, if heaving has occurred, new roots will grow into the compost.

"Another way to be sure you don't lose your plants after a hard winter is to just 'reset' the plants. In the spring when the soil can be worked, dig the plant up and replant a bit deeper. This covers the roots and also allows the stem to produce additional roots."

In addition to offering color to the garden, heucheras are plants that can be planted in the vicinity of trees and shrubs and compete very well with the roots. They also will survive and grow under walnut trees and are remarkably salt tolerant making them useful along walkways where deicing salt is used.

"The heuchera revolution is on, much the same way hosta took the gardening world by storm and the villosa hybrids are making it happen," Stack said.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
February 29, 2008