Here we are in the third week of June. The first two weeks of June I highlighted sun loving perennials, Blunt Mountain Mint and Asclepsia. This week, it’s time to go into shade and pick a perennial that loves a woodland setting. So, I decided to highlight Heuchera, commonly known as Coral Bells.
I chose to highlight Coral Bells for good reason—I love the colorful leaves. Coral Bells come in a wide range of foliage colors from dark purple, green, chartreuse, variegated, and more. Coral Bells are a versatile perennial and is very hardy from Zones 3 to 9 (we are in Zone 7).
I love the fact that Coral Bells have multi-seasonal interest with its colorful foliage and long bloom time.
HERE ARE SOME OTHER BENEFITS OF CORAL BELLS:
- Heucheras are drought tolerant and easy to maintain.
- Heucheras are deer resistant
- Heuchera flowers are a great nectar source for our beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies and hummingbirds.
- Heucheras, with their large leaves, provide great cover for our native critters. Some of the lighter colored leaf varieties can help brighten up the shade.
- Heucheras can easily be grown as a container plant.
HERE ARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS:
- Heucheras want to be grown in partial shade to shade – maybe a woodland perennial.
- Heucheras will grow to be about a foot or two tall and about a foot wide.
- Heucheras need well draining soil. This is why they can make ideal plantings in containers.
I have a chartreuse colored leaf variety in a container with other plantings surrounding it. I love it. One strong reason for having a coral bell in my container is that it is somewhat evergreen, keeping some foliage through the cold, winter months.
Finally, I find all the different Heuchera varieties beautiful. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. Right now we have a great selection for you to come and admire. And, you will find a few varieties in our American Beauties NATIVE PLANTS selection.
PLANT A LITTLE HAPPINESS & AT THE SAME TIME MAKE OUR HUMMINGBIRDS & POLLINATORS HAPPY !!!!!!!!!!!!