How to Grow Coral Bells (Heuchera)

Heuchera is a  North American native plant appropriate to use in woodland gardens. The native species will attract hummingbirds and bees to wildflower plantings with their late spring and early summer flowers.

The common name for Heuchera is coral bells, named for the panicle flower comprised of many tiny bell-shaped blooms. The panicles hang from flower stalks that rise above the ground cover foliage. The slightly hairy leaves feel rough to the touch and have a cordate form with lobed or serrated margins.

Coral Bells are delicate, sweet little flowers, but their biggest gardening thrill comes from their breathtakingly beautiful foliage.

Coral bell flowers rise from the garden as free-flowing, dainty bells that seem to float on air. A closer look reveals that these petite flowers are hosted by a wiry stem, that is attached to an incredibly beautiful plant.

Most flowering plants boast their blooms as the outstanding feature, but with the coral bell, it is the plant that’s taking gardeners by surprise. Growers everywhere are singing the praises of this eye-catching garden addition.

History of Coral Bells

Coral bells are native to North America and grow nicely in just about any region. They are herb related and known as clump-forming perennial plants.

Sometimes called the alumroot with the botanical name of Heuchera, after the 18th-century botanist Johann Heinrich von Heucher. Since their introduction, growers have taken the best of the wild species and developed an abundance of coral bell variety including all the best traits.

They produce lots of seeds and are easy to propagate. Every year, as the excitement over this flower, grows, more and more plants are being introduced into the coral bell mix.

Common Coral Bell/ Heuchera Cultivars

Coral bells used to be known for their green clumps of heart-shaped leaves with flowers — almost always pink — blooming atop slender stems. The flowers weren’t particularly pretty and the plant was sort of drab. Today, heucera hybrids are an entirely new generation with an explosion of stunning new foliage and flower forms.

In fact, coral bells may be one of the few perennials grown more for their colorful foliage than their flowers. Hybrid foliage heucheras are just as apt to have bronze, red, maroon and silvery-green leaves as regular green.

The slender, elongated stalks are still tipped with airy sprays of small, nodding bells over the course of summer. Flowers aren’t just pink anymore either. Today, they include red, carmine, coral, crimson, green and white. Still, even when abundant, the flowers of these new hybrids often are less showy than their leaves, which are their crowning glory for much of the year.

Heuchera plants have been hybridized into many cultivars, primarily for their leaf colors and forms. There are between thirty-five and fifty species of Heuchera, mostly native to cliffs, hills, and mountains of western North America.

Of these, only a few form the nucleus of our garden ornamentals. Others are grown in rock or wild gardens if they can be found. Some of the most popular ones include:

• Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’ Notwithstanding the popularity of the forms with showy flowers, it’s the cultivars of this member of the Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) bred for leaf color and pattern with whom I’ve fallen in love. ‘Plum Pudding’, shown here is typical of the red/purple-leafed forms in that the leaves appear different colors in a different light and vary a good deal on the plant, depending on their stage of growth. From a distance, it’s hard to distinguish many of the cultivars, but close examination of the leaves show the difference between them as well as within them. These are plants that reward close inspection.
• Heuchera ‘Regal Robe’ has a similar leaf shape to ‘Plum Pudding’, but the coloration is quite different. Except on newer leaves, green is dominant. The natural sheen of the leaf gives the appearance of a silver overlay, but in reality, the almost black veins have a purple tint and the “windows” between them are a soft gray-green. And, like all of these plants with any reds in them, the reverse of the leaf takes the particular shade of red and enriches it. When tousled by breezes, the leaves flaunt these otherwise hidden banners, and when backlit, the rich color infuses the entire leaf.
• Heuchera ‘Velvet Knight’ is a honey! The large leaves are large – the one in the scan measures seven and a quarter inches (18.41 cm) from end to end. Younger leaves, as you can see, exhibit more scalloped edges. The reverse is a lovely plum pink, which diffuses throughout the leaf, although the predominant color is a blackish green.
• Heuchera ‘Stormy Seas’ is another rather new child with the typical variation in leaf color from newer (on left) to older leaves. This one has particularly deeply scalloped leaf edges. And, the reverse of the leaf is quite bright…totally nifty plant.
• Heuchera ‘Palace Purple‘ is, perhaps, one of the first of the purple leaf clones. It is always described as having bronze-red leaves. The backside of the leaf, however, is beet red as all descriptions indicate – quite nice backlit, especially when tossed a bit by the breeze. In 1991, Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’ was named Perennial Plant of the Year. Gardeners liked the purple and green coloring on the ivy leaf so much, their enthusiasm exploded interest in breeding the perennial. Heuchera cultivars now run the range from burgundy to almost black to orange.
• Heuchera ‘Cappucino‘ joins others in the coffee and chocolate line – more cinnamon than ruby in tone. New leaves exhibit the coloring, which fades to green on age. This one has very ruffled and cut leaves, not too large, but quite nice, especially with associates echoing this color range. It is said to be more sun-resistant than many cultivars.
• Heuchera ‘Beaujolais’ has large dark burgundy leaves with silver overlay and dark gray veining. The flowers are almost pure while.
• Heuchera ‘Blackout’ was developed with uncharacteristically smooth leaves that are shiny black with rounded edges. Dirk Scheys of Belgium bred the Heuchera.
• Heuchera villosa ‘Caramel’ is also a large-leafed plant made up of soft orange and yellow coloring.
• Heuchera ‘Kassandra’ has a similar carmel to orange color but in fall turns maroon. The flowers are white.

Hybrid Plant x Heucherella

Plant breeders have melded the best characteristics of Heuchera and Tiarella to create a hybrid plant called x Heucherella. x Heucherella has the dramatic color variations found in Heuchera with the plant habit of Tiarella.

Tiarella-type leaves are deeply lobed with central red or maroon markings on the variety of Heuchera-like colors and, although the plant spreads, it is less aggressive than Tiarella cordifolia. The plants are sterile but can be divided or offset rooted as a gardener would stem cuttings at home.

Examples of the hybridized Heucherella can be seen in x Heucherella ‘Silver Streak’ with its deep purple leaves, silver mottling, and white and lavender flowers. The x Heucherella ‘Sunspot’ has bright chartreuse yellow leaves with the characteristic red center star, the flowers have pink blooms.

Which Coral Bells to Choose

Coral bells have clumping and mounting habits and because of this most gardeners prefer to place them in the front of the garden, or around the garden as a border. Some varieties stay short and cropped which makes them excellent candidates for a colorful ground cover.

Coral bells make gorgeous potted patio plants, and also do well when they are left alone to naturalize. They also seem to prefer the company and do best when planted in crops of two or three. These plants are very short rooted and tend to raise themselves up out of the ground. Coral bell enthusiasts recommend re-rooting them every couple of years.

Deciding which coral bells are right for any given garden design requires a little garden center or nursery footwork. The first thing to think about is that some species of the coral bell are region-specific, and next there’s plant size and shape to consider.

And finally, perhaps most importantly, is the color and foliage type option. The following are some of the most popular coral bell plants and a small description of the given species.

How to Grow Coral Bells

Coral bells are native to North America.  Depending on their bloodlines, most are hardy from USDA zones 3 or 4 to 9 or 10; certainly to zone 5. Most remain evergreen, although a very hard winter can find them distinctly tatty come spring.

The H. americana and the H. sanguinea are herbaceous perennials that are more successful in shade gardens. H. americana nicknamed American alumroot, works in hardiness zones 4 – 9 making them more appropriate for southern gardens. H. sanguinea thrives in a colder range, zones 3 – 8.

Heuchera richardsonii is also a hardier coral bells, zone 3 – 9, native in the Northern and Western parts of North America. But the 2’ tall plant blooms later, in June and July and has green leaves and flowers.

This Heuchera is an excellent idea for gravel gardens where never-water-again perennials are highly valued. Heuchera richardsonii prefers dry to average soils over the moist woodland environment its cousins thrive in.

Tidy-minded gardeners will want to remove old foliage in early spring, even if it is still presentable. These are excellent plants for the partly or lightly shaded garden. They will survive in deep shade, but never reach their potential. They will also take full sun in northerly climates.

This is one plant where good soil preparation really pays off. They all want the soil to remain moist but drain well, particularly in winter. Every three to five years, you will need to lift and divide your clumps, as the crowns grow progressively woodier and growth diminishes.

In some soils, they will tend to push themselves out of the ground and need digging and resetting more frequently to keep them flourishing. When you plant, make sure the crown is at the same level as in the pot – you don’t want to smother it. Mulch to keep the soil moist and cool and retard weed growth.

Propagation

Propagation is by seed or division in early spring (preferably) or fall (in warmer climates) and – so I’ve read – leaf cuttings. Seed should not be covered and germinates in three weeks at 65 to 75 F (18 -23 C). Pre-chilling may assist germination.

Leaf cuttings, taken in late fall, consist of the entire leaf plus a short segment of the petiole (leaf stalk). I haven’t tried this method, but it sounds interesting.

Of course, the only way to obtain a true plant is by division or cuttings. If you collect seed from your plants or allow them to seed around in the garden, you may come up with something very interesting or you may find mongrels of little merit crowding out your named varieties.

How to Care for Coral Bells

Plant maintenance for Heuchera is easily minimized when first planting them in a shady garden. The perennials should be protected from hot afternoon sun so leaf edges do not burn or colors fade. Heucheras can be successfully grown in full sun only in northern gardens but are better in part sun and in part shade for southern gardens.

With the exception of Heuchera species that tolerate dry soils, coral bells require moist well draining soil amended with organic matter. Heuchera needs good air circulation no matter the garden site.

Coral bells are one perennial that should be dug and divided every 3 – 4 years. To negate frost heaving, the crown of the Heuchera should be planted below the soil’s surface.