HEUCHERA – HEUCHERELLA

These plants are so similar that I am putting them together in this list. I had some Tiarella, but they all died, so I’ll stick with these two which do well for me, mostly.

Heucherella:  A cross between Heuchera (Coral Bells) and Tiarella (Foam Flower) they have pretty flowers on shorter spikes than most of the Heuchera.

Dayglow Pink – Bought 2 from Miller Creek Garden Center in 2006. Light green foliage with pinkish center. Pink flowers.

Rosalie – Bought from Bluestone Perennials in 2001. They were moved in 2004, and have not done well since.   This photo is from 2005, but in 2008 these plants are smaller than this.

Viking Ship – Planted two in 2006  - both doing well in 2008.  Light green foliage, prolific pink flowers in June.

The photo below shows one section of my garden on June 8, 2008.  The tiny little heucherella are the original 'Rosalie's, that were bought in 2001, then moved to this area. I gave up on them this year and planted some new Heuchera and Alchemilla where they used to be, but left the little plants, because I hate to throw out something living. (Well other than weeds, that is.) On the left is a heuchera 'June Bride', next alchemilla mollis (Lady's mantel) then heuchera 'Midnight Rose', those two repeated, then heucherella 'Dayglow Pink'.  I bought the alchemilla and Midnight rose at Lake Superior Garden Center.

Heuchera (Coral Bells) I buy these primarily for the foliage, but some of them have pretty flowers. They start blooming for me in late June, so many are in bloom now.

Amethyst Myst – Grey/burgundy leaves

Citronelle – Lime green leaves.  Planted next to Key Lime in 2008. I liked the Key Lime and went out to buy more of the same, but had forgotten the name. I found what I thought was the same variety, but once again it's not exactly. Still they look similar enough, I think.

Crimson Curls - I bought 2 in 2007 to replace two that died.  I couldn’t find a way to plant the two together. Below are photos of this plant on June 14, and June 22, 2008.

The two above are the same plant. The one below is the same variety in a different location.

Green Spice – Silver-green/ foliage with dark veins.

June Bride - This one was also moved form another location in 2004. It has white flowers.

Key Lime – Lime-yellow leaves. Planted in 2007.

Marmalade – Peach/orange leaves. Bought two in 2006. Here are two photos of the same plant one taken August, 2006 and one taken June 2008.

Midnight Rose – Dark burgundy leaves with rose-red spots. I planted these in May 2008, where the heucherella were, that were shrinking every year. You see two of those in this photo. The one on the left is so tiny, that I suspect it grew from seed. I don't know if that's possible with these, but that's what it looks like.

Peach Flambé – Peach/red leaves.  Here are two pictures of this plant, the first taken October, 2007; the second June 22, 2008.

Peach Melba - I really thought this one was the same as one I already had, when I bought it. I just realized today that it is called 'Peach Melba and not Peach Flambé.

Plum Pudding – Plum purple foliage, metallic silver highlights. Bought 3 in 2007. One had a sticker over the plum pudding label that said ‘Regina’. It looks like the others, though. This photo was taken June 22, 2008.

Obsidian – Shiny, almost black leaves, cream flowers. They don't look black in this photo, but they are darker than any of my other plants. See the same plant, in a previous year in the upper right hand corner of the next photo.

Sparkling Burgundy – Burgundy red leaves, yellow flowers. This one died in a harsh winter.

Raspberry Ice – Dark Green foliage, bright pink flowers. This has been my best flowering plant. It blooms for me all summer with lots of spikes of flowers. If I’d ever found it again I would have bought more.

Tiramisu – Lime green leaves with reddish centers, planted in 2008. I bought these to balance out the lime green color on the other side of the yard.

Here's a wider shot of my garden. This area is probably what got me started with this collection. I wanted some Heuchera for these corners. When the shrubs were smaller there were large bare areas in front of them. I couldn't decide which heuchera to buy, so ended up getting 6 different ones. The white-flowering shrubs are viburnum 'Alfredo' and the pink ones are weigela. this is the back of the house.

And this one is taken looking towards the alley. You can see the 'Key Lime' and 'Citronelle' Heuchera on the left, the 'Viking Ship' on either side of the walk near the arbor and one of the 'Plum Pudding' on the far right.

I live in Zone 4, so have to stick to cold-hardy perennials. Fortunately there are quite a few to choose from. When we have good snow cover the plants stay warmer. This past winter (2007-08) was a good one for perennials, as we did have snow on the ground from December 1 till mid-March. I'm not an authority on these plants but would be happy to hear from you if you have comments or questions.  Send me pictures of your favorite plants. Contact me at csriehl (at) gmail (dot) com. 

Happy gardening!!