Coral Bells for Sunny Sites

Posted in Gardening Tips on August 23 2011, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education.

Last week we looked at coral bells and covered some of the dark leaved options that are grown in this garden and easy to find on the market. This week we are going to look at some spectacular options for sunny sites.

Coral bells were traditionally thought of as shade lovers. Heuchera villosa, however, is a species that is native to southeastern U.S. It is an adaptable species that thrives in full sun to part shade, grows happily in soils ranging from slightly wet to slightly dry and is unfazed by high humidity. Understandably, it is a popular plant for southern gardens.

Hybridizers have latched on to this species and it is now part of the parentage of many successful hybrids. The French hybridizer, Thierry Delabroye has taken the world of coral bells by storm by flooding the market with a number of mouthwatering cultivars that are designed to make you either hungry or thirsty. Delabroye’s offerings include cultivars such as ‘Carmel’, ‘Brownies’, ‘Mocha’, ‘Pistache’, ‘Tiramisu’, ‘Pinot Gris’, and ‘Beaujolais’. We have used a number of these cultivars in container displays. This year we are growing ‘Brownies’ in the Trial Bed Garden in the Home Gardening Center.

The reputation of Heuchera ‘Brownies’ as an attractive and adaptable coral bell is attested to by the fact that it is flourishing in the challenging environment of New York’s High Line park. Its foliage emerges brown and then transforms into a greenish brown with a rich purple-red underside. Like the majority of Heuchera villosa hybrids it features large foliage and has a fuzzy texture. It grows over a foot tall and forms a generous two foot clump.

The American hybridizer, Dan Heims, has a selection of Heuchera villosa hybrids that are also worth searching out. The names of his cultivars hark back to the species’ regional heritage with cultivars such as ‘Southern Comfort’ and ‘Georgia Peach’.

We are growing Heuchera ‘Southern Comfort’ in the Trial Bed Garden. It starts the season with peachy, amber tones that morph into a coral color by autumn. This cultivar has proven to be indestructible; it over-wintered beautifully and exploded with a kaleidoscope of colors in the spring. It is also a large specimen reaching 15-inches tall with a spread of over two feet.

An important piece of gardener’s advice for my readers:

When you are growing these coral bells in sunny environments make sure that you are conscientious with your watering practices while they are getting established (this is a common practice with all of your plants). After that, remember to water them during extended dry spells. They will protest when subjected to excessive heat and drought by browning out on the leaves.

Do not pamper these coral bells by feeding them heavily with fertilizer. They are vigorous to start with and you will just encourage excessive growth that will collapse under challenging circumstances. Allow them “tough it out.”