Heuchera for the Garden and Containers
Evergreen Perennials with Attractive Foliage, Good for Part Shade
Jul 8, 2009
The genus Heuchera is a member of the saxifrage family of plants and so is related to the bergenias and Astilbe. Like their cousins, heucheras carry their plume-like flowers high above their crowns, but the gardener's principal interest lies in their foliage, which is now available in a huge range of attractive colours.
A History of the Heuchera
Heucheras are native to North America, where their roots (known as ‘alumroot’) have been used in traditional medicines for centuries. Nosebleeds, sore throats, ulcers and even piles are said to benefit from alumroot powders or aqueous extracts.
When heucheras first found a place in the herbaceous border, they were grown for their flowers – dainty spikes of red, pink or white bells that gave the genus its popular name, ‘coral bells’.
This all changed in the 1980s, when a purple-leaved heuchera was found growing in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, near London. The new variety was named ‘Palace Purple’ in honour of Kew Palace. Around the same time, a seedling with white-splashed leaves, subsequently named ‘Snow Storm’, was discovered in a garden in Oregon.
A Wide Range of Colourful Varieties
Palace Purple and Snow Storm were just the beginning of an explosion of new varieties of heuchera that has occurred over the last twenty years. Through breeding based on these two plants, over 150 cultivars are now available in a dazzling palette of colours ranging from purple, chocolate and black to pewter, copper and bronze – and every hue in between.
While the older types such as Palace Purple remain popular, new varieties appear every year. Recent hits include Beauty Colour, with silvery, purple-veined leaves; Sashay, a deeply ruffled, bicoloured form; and Southern Comfort, distinguished by foliage that changes colour over the season, from peach to burnished copper to amber.
When growing heucheras in the garden or containers, the colour combinations – contrasting or complementary – are endless. The acid-green foliage of Key Lime Pie looks stunning combined with a purple- or black-leaved variety such as Midnight Burgundy or Obsidian, or try the pink-speckled Plum Pudding alongside the silvery Mint Frost.
How to Grow Heucheras
Heucheras do well in the garden, containers and hanging baskets. They form neat mounds with a typical spread of 15–60 cm, depending on the cultivar, and a height one-half of this, making them ideal plants for the front of a border. As hardy evergreens, they provide year-round interest whatever their location, and they are ideal as ground cover plants
Heucheras are suitable for most gardens, being tolerant of a wide range of soil types from acid to alkaline and clay to sand. They do not like being waterlogged, however, and nor do they relish dry soil. Full sun or partial shade is preferred; heucheras grown in deep shade tend to lose their brilliant colours.
To keep heucheras looking their best, tatty-looking foliage and old flower spikes should be removed every autumn. Every two or three years in late summer, lift and divide the clumps, then replant them with their crowns just above the surface of the soil and a mulch of organic matter.
A Popular Plant Suitable for Most Gardens
From humble beginnings, heucheras have become one of the most popular perennials in recent years, due to their dazzling colours and tolerance of a wide range of conditions. As their popularity increases, the flood of exciting new varieties looks set to continue for years to come.
References
Bourne V. How to Grow: Heuchera 'Eco Magnififolia'. The Telegraph, 18 January 2003.
Brown B. Heucheras: New and Improved. The Garden 2002; 127(8): 600–3.
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