Heuchera is one of the easiest to grow of all the shade perennials and one of my personal favorites. I’ve always been attracted to beautiful foliage plants and heuchera fits the bill. But beauty needs to have reliability and endurance for my perennial garden these days. Heuchera thrives in the shade and tolerates the heat and humidity of my southern locale. As if that’s not enough, the Heuchera leaves are usually evergreen and it blooms with clusters of tiny flowers on tall spikes. The foliage is now available in so many colors that Heuchera is worth growing even if it didn’t produce flowers.
Heuchera is a low growing perennial that not only tolerates heat and humidity but also the cold winters as far north as USDA Zone 3. It’s rarely bothered by pests or diseases. It does need adequate water but also must have good drainage in medium rich soil. Be sure to keep the crown of the plant above the soil so it doesn’t rot. Heuchera stays low and only reaches about twelve to eighteen inches tall and eighteen to twenty-four inches wide. It has deeply lobed leaves that form a compact mound of foliage. The flower spikes that bloom in the spring and early summer can grow more than three feet tall in shades of pinks, corals, red and white.
Heuchera prefers shade, especially in southern summers but some Heuchera varieties can tolerate sun exposure much like some varieties of Hosta. And speaking of Hosta, these two hardy shade perennials make perfect partners in the garden. They look fantastic together and have similar requirements. Both perennials are commonly planted in groups for maximum impact but are pretty enough to hold their own. The contrasts of Heuchera and Hosta foliage can liven up a shady perennial garden even when neither plant is in bloom. Heuchera can be used to edge the front of a perennial bed. They also grow well in containers.
I remember when not long ago Heuchera was only readily available in a couple of varieties. Heuchera is in the Saxifragaceae family and was often sold by its common names coral bells or alum root. There was and still is the original purple leaf Heuchera called ‘Purple Palace’ with tiny white flowers and the green leaf variety known as ‘Coral Bells’ appropriately named for the color of the tiny bell-shaped flowers that bloom on slender spikes.
These days, Heuchera is available in hundreds of varieties of solid, deeply veined and splotchy shades of purples, pinks, reds, silvery-greens, blue-greens, chartreuse, gold, brown, peachy-oranges and even a purple so dark it’s called black. Some Heuchera plants have different colors on the top and bottom of each leaf as well. This hardy perennial now has several varieties with leaves that have very curly and frilly edges. It’s just a joy to grow and watch the striking leaves change colors with the seasons. There’s a Heuchera to blend or contrast nicely with almost any foliage or flower combinations you can imagine.
If you love bright lime green foliage as much as I do, then you might try ‘Lime Rickey’, ‘Electric Lime’ or a new variety called ‘Lime Marmalade’. The orange family of Heuchera includes but is not limited to such popular varieties as ‘Peach Flambe’, ‘Ginger Peach’ and ‘Georgia Peach’. The purple and pink shades of Heuchera are prettier than ever and if you prefer a cool shade of green then try ‘Mint Julep’, ‘Paris’ or ‘Peppermint Spice. There are so many choices when it comes to this easy to grow perennial. The only hard part about growing Heuchera is trying to decide which varieties to buy.
