Coral Bells (Heuchera)
[HEW-ker-ah]
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Evergreen Perennial Mounded
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About Coral Bells
If there was a contest for the most versatile plant out there, Heuchera just might win. This plant can tolerate full shade to full sun, although it does best with at least four hours of sun daily, and can grow in almost any soil and moisture conditions (within reason - don’t plant the poor guy in a pond!). Heuchera’s foliage can range from an almost-lemon-yellow to an almost-black-purple, and its dainty bell-shaped flowers dance in the breeze over its dense and mounded crown. Heuchera makes a striking “middle row” plant in the garden but can also be found in a pot.
Heuchera overwinters beautifully in the ground (it could be classified as *almost* evergreen) and only needs a light trim-back in the spring to remove winter-damaged foliage. Its flowers will dry on their stalks in late summer and actually look quite pretty, in a steampunk kind of way, but you can snip the stalks and enjoy a freshened-up, foliage-only plant for the rest of the season.
A few favorites include ‘Caramel’ (light green to - you guessed it - caramel foliage), ‘Dolce Cherry Truffles’ (cherry red to deep red ruffled foliage), ‘Lime Marmalade’ (yellow-green ruffled foliage), ‘Frosted Violet’ (prominent veins, violet purple foliage with a silver overcast), ‘Green Spice’ (purple veins, bright green foliage with a silver overcast), ‘Obsidian’ (very dark purple foliage), and ‘Palace Purple’ (dark green to purple to burgundy foliage). Heuchera makes a stunning mass planting or you can mix-and-match to achieve bright splashes of contrast throughout the garden.
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Pros
- Extremely low maintenance
- Can grow in most soil and moisture conditions
- Foliage overwinters
- Only needs a quick cut-back to look its best come spring
- No pruning needed (but can prune old flower stalks)
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Cons
- Needs extra water in extremely hot weather
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Plant Data |
Mature Size |
12 - 18 inches
tall. 12 - 18 inches
wide.
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Growth Rate |
Moderate |
Sun Exposure |
Partial Shade - Full Sun |
Zones |
3a - 8b
(Usually hardy to -40° F)
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Tags |
Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Pollinators, Attracts Wildlife, Colorful Foliage, Container, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Edging, Evergreen, Fall Color, Filler, For a Shady Spot, Full Sun, Good for Accents, Good for Beginners, Good for Borders, Good for Butterfly Garden, Good for Mass Planting, Good for Rock Garden, Grown For Attractive Foliage, Low Maintenance, Most Popular, Mounded, Native to North America, Non-Allergenic, Normal Soil, Partial Shade, Partial Sun, Perennial, Rabbit Resistant, Shade Tolerant, Tolerant of Moist Soil, Tolerant of Salt, Well-Drained Soil, Woodland Garden
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Animals That Use It |
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Rankings |
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More Info from Experts |
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Commonly Planted with...
Pair heuchera with ornamental grasses, lacy-leaved plants (like fringed-leaf bleeding heart or thread-leaf coreopsis), irises to highlight their form. Heuchera are often planted with other shade-tolerant plants like Hosta, ferns, Astilbe, Dicentra, and Hellebores. Heuchera come in so many colors that many color combinations are possible. Dark purple leaves can make yellow flowers glow, while the lighter colored Heuchera highlight more "normal" green foliage.
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Photos of This with...
Variegated Sweet Flag,
Columbine - Origami Blue & White,
Ghost Fern,
Winter Glow Pigsqueak,
Boxwood,
Beverly Bronze Chrysanthemum,
Transvaal Daisy,
Hellebore,
Plantain Lily,
Calendiva Kalanchoa,
Snake Plant,
Kiwi Fern Coleus,
Mint Mocha Coleus,
Wasabi Coleus,
Hummelo Alpine Betony,
Cole Canadian Hemlock,
Late Tulip,
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