Heucheras

Hi, Pirl! Beautiful photos. That is an awesome combination. If the heuchera was new last year, that explains the flowers. Give it another year. If anyone around here wants some of the lysimachia, I can oblige. It's a great plant, but it does tend to run amok given the right conditions. I never really care, as it is very easy to pull out and the color is terrific.

Hi Pirl! Please kick up your feet & have a rest!
Yes - I did notice that PP does not resemble the photos online. What's up with that?
There are a few others, too.
I'll be looking for more this year, but the prices are really getting up there. Snow Angel made it through another Winter, but I'd say she likes warmer climates. And probably resents dog feet on her head.

My snow angel finally ascended to her true domain. I've got a couple of Hercules that are much tougher plants, but look very similar. Let me know if you'd like a division of one of mine.

Hi Pirl!

Resenting dog feet? What kind of a plant would do such a thing?

Sashay is one I've wanted for awhile but I fear it will not live up to the photo I always see. Snow Angel hated me from the moment we met. No matter where I put it I had no luck. Finally it disappeared completely much to my delight. I loved it but it wouldn't take sun, nor shade, nor dappled shade.

Pixy - Lysimachia can get a bit unruly but, as you said, it's so easy to rip out - just like Angelina sedum and the same color family. I bought Obsidian in '06, the year the photo was taken. I've never had a flower on any heuchera like the ones you lucky people out in the northwest get! I'm deprived!

Harry just snuggles up to plants but doesn't sit on them.

Hi susybell. Glad to know I'm not alone with Snow Angel.

Big dog feet in pursuit of ball, cat, squirrels....
Yes Sue, i'd love a division of Hercules.
My Obsidian flowered like mad, as did the other one (name escapes me) i planted in a container.

I got a 'Frosted Violet' at an end-of-season sale last November, planted it just before the long December freeze, and then hoped for the best. It does not look very good just now (none of my Heuchs look great at the moment) but it does not look dead either, so I think it could bounce back. It is not as purple as pictures I had seen on-line, but it is pretty enough, or was before its leaves turned half brown.

It is February. We are used to weather like this in April. Just think, if a typical Spring warming trend continues, they will be fabulous in another 2 months, as they would normally be.
My soil is noticeably warmer, particularly where i mulched with manure & shavings last Fall. The worms are little Fatties, and they've been busy as of late. Some things are way ahead of the game - others are looking for the sun/warmth.

I don't know which cultivar this is, but it's next to a parking lot in Redmond, right by my vet's office in May of 2009 . . .

Hercules is pretty cute. Is he checking for varmints under there?

Kate, we need to write a book called Gardening with Dog Feet or something like that.

Springcolor, I was responding to Sue's question about the Hepatica nobilis x cremar. We each purchased one from Rick Lupp at Mt. Tahoma nursery late last summer when we were down in Graham for the PNW Forum Roundup. It's a hybrid that was developed in this area and he recommended to us (at least to me) - all I knew is that I wanted a couple of Hepaticas. After purchasing it I found a bunch of info online and I wanted to share it with Sue and anyone else who was interested.

I'd love to expand my Heuchera collection if we could find a way to connect. I work M-F and most of the day most Sundays, so that makes time pretty tight for me. I'm hoping to cut back on that this summer.

That looks like Plum Pudding. Nice picture.

Thanks for the name of the plant. Will look for one.

When you get some time D-mail me. I have some in 4 inch now and will making more soon.

Pirl, somehow I thought that the plant was new last year. That's a shame that you don't get many flowers on Heuchera where you live. I do love them, myself. I think the dark one in this photo is 'starry night', but don't quote me. I'd have to go out into the garden and look.

These Heuchera are some I grew from seed. They are so easy to do. They are from Dale's Strain, which is a green leave with silver overlay, and pink to rose colored flowers. Some of the flowers turned out to be too red and the color almost blinded me. I had to take those out and re-home them. You can buy good strains of Heuchera seed from England.

http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/chilternseeds/default/d/h/mt/c/rid/18413/pn/6

Also here:
http://www.hardyplants.com/category/Heuchera.html


This message was edited Feb 28, 2010 12:32 AM

Pixy - I do get flowers but they aren't the size some of the photos above show. Mine are like yours. 'Starry Night' looks so good with green and spiky.

Someone sent me some Heuchera they grew - Bressingham something. It's "just" green but I do love the flowers on it - the blinding red.

Harry (but he'd love the name Hercules even though it would only inflate his ego) is good at searching for shady napping spots. He's excellent at not watering any plants for us.

None of the peach/coral/salmon colored ones do well for me. All of the dark ones excel.

Wow, I've got to go out and move some things!

Today's article on Heucheras: (reprint)
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/253/

Kathy - yes a book is in order "Gardening with Dog Feet & Pruning by Tail".

Thanks for the link, Pirl. The Nursery that I eat lunch at (brown bag - I don't eat the plants...) has quite a number of Heucheras every year. I'll be checking with them on customer feedback. Seems that the peach-melon-amber varieties have had problems with melting away. However, Georgia Peach is in a container & looking happy (may be due to our warmer than usual winter, and avoidance of Dog Feet); Peach Flambe is looking like she needs an overhaul (pruning & replanting - she did better with less sun); and Dolce Peach Melba - all 3 looked good as could be expected during the winter, and require minimal clean-up.
Green Spice is one of my favourites: never misses a beat, unless the dogs step on her.

Georgia Peach with Coleus threatening Container Dominance.
snip, snip - & all is well.....

Green Spice is gorgeous with the green edge: ideal for hostas and shady spots.

Georgia Peach is a beauty and those coleus are so easy to tame.

Hi Pirl, nope, you're not alone with snow angel. :) In fact, I think that there are many, many, Snow Angels awaiting us in plant heaven. Lots of folks have found her to be strangely challenging.

I've got a whole bunch of the Bressingham hybrids, and I know that they aren't cool and fancy like the new ones, but they're nice plants. A cover of Sunset mag a couple of years ago had a shot of long garden walkway (20ft?) edged the whole length with them blooming, and it looked great.

Holly, Frosted Violet can be an amazing, stunning almost glowy purple, but not at this time of year, so don't worry -mine look downright scruffy right now too. Cut off all the dead stuff, or behead it, keep it happy (it seems purply-ier when in moister soil and in more shade, btw) and wait a few months. :)

Pix, thanks (enabler!!!) for the Heuchera seed links and for reminding me about the Terra Nova website. I made a mistake and looked at them last night. Some of their newest ones are incredible. (Hate to think how $$$, though)

Katye, beautiful combo. WM for lunch, huh? Hmmm...... I will save you a nice division of Hercules. :)

Green spice looks great this time of year, but mine loses the red flush later on and gets kind of ordinary looking, so it's not one of my most-favorites.

Sounds like all of us have a selection of them. Maybe we could do a Heuchera swap, or at least make a list of ones we'd most like to have and see if anyone else has one that could be divided?

I'm loving this thread as I simply adore all varieties of Heuchera. Currently I have Lime Rickey, Peach Flambe, Frosted Violet, and Rave On and you've all got me obsessing now about Obsidian.

I put them all in last year, so you can see it was pretty bare looking. I let lysimachia and ajuga romp free in there though, and put in some forget me nots, so at least there's no bare ground left this year! I have a question about the Hakonechloa 'Aureola' grass that's planted with my Heucheras. It was new to me last year as well so I'm unfamiliar with it's timing. Right now it's all brown and dead looking still. Is that normal or should it have greened up by now if it were going to?

It's normal here. Just cut it back and it will grow as it did last year for you.

Oh, Pirl, I forgot to mention that I've got Sashay. It's nice, very dark green, a good grower, but the best pictures I've seen of it are with a frost rime on the edges of the leaves. That sets off the green/purple contrast really well. It's not too often my Heuch's get frosted edges, though. :) So, I find it a bit plain, or I need to put it somewhere other than where it is. Your garden, though-maybe more likely to get frosted edges?

Kymm, Hakenochloa still brown for me, too. Just beginning to green up a tad. You'll find it very easy to remove the dead stuff-you might find the start of little sprigs of green underneath. :)

No frosted edges here. Now I'm really jealous.

the Hakenochloas are slow starters - it's the last day of Feb so as anxious as I am, I did not expect much yet.

Sashay is so pretty - needs to be closer to the eyes, so I am going to put mine in a hanging basket & see how she does.

Pirl, Sashay could use dividing this spring as well.....if I happened, say, to have a mailing address floating around someplace, perhaps in a dmail???.... ;)

Judi, just realized, I never thanked you for your very tempting offer of a mailing address. (I switch back and forth between two computers-the shared family room laptop and my PC in my project room. I get out of sync with myself. ) It's an intriguing idea, but honestly I'm torn, I'd really like to see Mt Tahoma in spring bloom, too (and visit with Kathy and Pix). On the other hand, if I get a box sent to you, then I could meet you and see your garden (and maybe stop by Stumptown while I'm in the neighborhood...). So, maybe we'll just play it by ear. I haven't written to him yet anyway. :)

This message was edited Feb 28, 2010 6:59 PM

Okay, I divvied up my two neglected little pots of Amethyst Myst and got probably 20 babies. We'll see how they do. This was actually pretty fun. I'm in a dividing mood . . .

I have never divided one. How do you go about it?

Basically just get all the dirt off of it so you can see where it naturally splits. Try to leave some root on either piece. The Hori Hori knife comes in very handy here . . .

Susybell - that's cool.

susybell - thanks! I Dmailed you.

Gosh, Kathy, if you are in a dividing mood, have I got a garden for you! come on down!

Sue, you know I never pay retail for heucheras.

I have decided to rip out all the sedums in my kitchen sink garden and put in alpine instead. This will require a trip to Mt. Tahoma. Also, I have that pitiful 'wishing well' thingy out front behind the ratty bergenia that needs to be useful in some way. Full sun in the summer, protected from rain all year round, so I'd have to water it. But I need to do something with it and heucheras will not grow. I guess I better go to Mt. Tahoma to see how he does his gardens.

Ahhhh - research, right Pix?

Pix, I'm sure he'll have some wonderful ideas, researching is so important.... :) I need to get a refresher course on how he does his drainage. Seems I remember he had some things growing in pure sand, or was it gravel???
And, yes, I know you never pay retail for Heuchs....but it looks like I might if I buy any this year....I'll wait and see what gaps I have in a month or so.

Oh, yes! I am very into researching thoroughly! He has sand beds, Sue.

I sold a ton of different Heucheras off the back of a large cube truck this past year to retail nurseries. My favourite was Peach Flambe as the centre was darker than the older leaves. Green Spice has great colour early in the season and Sashay was a good seller. We ran out of Caramel and the majority of yellows/light coloured Heucheras early in the season. I now have a good collection in the garden.

Here's Midnight Rose but it didn't move as well as I'd hoped.

Hiya Growin'. I love Midnight Rose.. Hmmm. I can't remember if I have that one. I better have it. If I don't, then I better get it. That leaf is awesome.

Hi Pixy, ya it's awesome but can get lost in the garden as you kinda need to look at it up close. I noticed it in a Seattle garden planted in a rock wall bed and was nicely visible as you walk up the stone steps. The sun needs to hit it for the colour to show properly.

I liked selling this one, Southern Comfort, as it flows nicely with an attempted southern accent. A bit large leaves and open for my planter but still nice in this dappled shade.

growin - love your photos! Keep them coming. Here in the northeast we have snow, again!

Hi growin, I would certainlly buy the midnight rose. Pretty pictures.