Scientific Name:
Heuchera
cvs.
Pronunciation:
HEW-kur-uh
Common Name:
coral bells, alumroot
Family Name:
Saxifragaceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial
Key ID Features:
Leaves basal, most orbicular 7-15(-20)cm long x 5-12cm wide, base cordate, margins lobed to incised and wavy (ruffled appearance), purple (ranging from deep purple to lavender), red (including coppery red and ruby red tones), green (from light to dark green), bronze (metallic or shimmering bronze hues), orange (from subtle peach to deep tangerine), and silver/gray (some hybrids have silvery or frosty-looking foliage); flowers tiny, white to pink, red, coral or peachy, and held above the foliage on panicles with cymose branching (thyrse).
Habit:
Spreading
Form:
Mounded
Texture:
Coarse
Mature Height:
0.4 - 0.7m
Mature Spread:
0.3 - 0.6m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Garden origin (species involved may include H. 'brizoides', H. 'cylindrica', H. 'micrantha', H. 'sanguinea', H. 'villosa')
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Landscape Uses:
Perennial border, Small garden/space, Summer interest
Additional Info:
Cultivars shown or on campus may include
H. 'Autumn Leaves' (leaves colored brick red in spring and fall and amber and tan in summer; flowers red purple and light pink; excellent tolerance to heat and humidity),
H. 'Birkin' (compact; leaves tricolour with green edges and purple veins),
H. 'Blackout' (very dark leaves),
H. 'Creme Brulee' (round, heavily-lobed, palmate leaves are thick and somewhat glossy with tints of creams, pinks, and browns),
H. 'Crimson Curls' (hybrid of unknown parentage with deeply lobed and wavy margins),
H. 'Wildberry' (blades deep to strong purplish-red with darker greyed purple surrounding veins),
H. 'Key Lime Pie', and
H. 'Lime Rickey'.
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple, Lobed
Arrangement:
Basal
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Palmate venation
Surfaces:
Lustrous, Pubescent
Colour in Summer:
Green, Green-yellow, Yellow, Orange, Red, Dark-red, Bronze, Nearly Black
Colour in Fall:
Yellow, Brown
Shapes:
Orbicular, Ovate
Apices:
Obtuse
Bases:
Cordate
Margins:
Ciliate, Dentate, Palmately lobed, Undulate (wavy)
Inflorescence Type:
Thyrse
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Funnelform
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Not showy, White, Pink (cream)
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun, Jul
Fruit Type:
Capsule, Aborted (hybrids) or absent
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Fruit insignificant
Bark or Stem Colour:
n/a
Pest Susceptibility:
Rust, Slugs or snails
Course(s):
- Level 4 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (BUG) BUG garden : dead? - cv. Wildberry
- (CGW) Community Garden West : cv. Blackout
- (FEA) Field lab Equipment Area : cv. Wildberry
- (ONE) Overpass North side East : under chitalpa
- (PDE) PonD East : cv. Autumn Leaves
- (WLG) WoodLand Garden : cv. Birkin