I love 'Amber Waves'...also have a mini called 'Petite Pearl Fairy' which is very cute.

#1 favorite would have to be H.'Lime Rickey'. . .anything
THAT chartreuse can't go unnoticed in the garden! Of the
purples, my cultivar of choice has always been H.'Plum Pudding'. . .and in one bed where I needed a red accent,
my research turned up a somewhat smaller little gem called
H. 'Mt. St. Helen's' - we're talking intensely RED! You can see pictures of the latter two at Bluestone, and I seem
to remember that Dave's Garden had pictures of 'Lime Rickey'. . .

Amethyst Mist and Purple Petticoats are my two favorites. The first has withstood nasty winters and other weather of every type, unlike a lot of my heucheras in the past. And the second just bowls me over with the ruffled leaves, putting out new growth during this very warm winter.

I see you already have my absolute favorite, H. Marmalade. Second on my favorites list would be H. Plum Pudding.

I only have Firefly, Purple Palace, and Ebony and Ivory----so far----and Ebony and Ivory is my favorite. The leaves are so dark and the flowers so-----well---ivory. It is a sweet dainty little plant too. Love it!

Aunt Lou

Thank you all for some great recommendations. I espicially like Carls "Mt ST Helens" since my name is Helen!
Playing in the dirt, Pei Canada

My favorites are Ruby Veil, Can Can, Regina, Plum Pudding, Obsidian and Sparkling Burgundy. I have had some planted where they get at least 5 hrs of morning sun and some were planted where they only got 3 hrs or so of morning sun. The ones that were planted in more sun had much better color. I've moved the ones that had less sun into an area with more sun and they're looking good now too. I grow them more for the color of the leaves than the flowers, but when they're in flower, they really look good. Regina and Ruby Veil get the most flowers for me. There are so many to enjoy. I haven't lost one of mine since I started with them 9 yrs ago.

Kat

What a great post. I have been collecting for a few years and it seems like I cannot get enough of these in my garden. Some of my favorites:
Snow Angel
Obsidian
Key Lime Pie
Dolice Licorice
Dolice Creme Burlee
Carmel
Monet
Stoplight
Silver Scrolls
Green Spice
Raspberry Splash
Marmalade
Right now in my collection I have 64 in my collection and this post is great as I will be able to see what others that are out there. I buy mine at the local nurseries and always wondered where other people find theirs.
PITD - your Snow Angel, do have it planted in all shade? I had moved one of mine into an area that had part sun and it really is doing great. Wondering if I should move the other in this area?

I have only a few, but Ametheyst Mist and Lime Rickey have both done well for me. Amber Waves had nice color but diminished until it finally dissapeared from my garden. Other people in the area have had the same experience with A.W.

One of my favourite plants!

I got Peach Flambé last year and the colour changes are magnificent.

I love Vesuvius and Checkers as they put out such a nice long display of blooms. Ebony and Ivory is an old standby.

Lime Rickey is a great grower and nice with and without bloom. Swirling Fantasy looks like it will be a great bloomer as it matures. It seems a bit slower growing.

Silver Scrolls, Obsidian and Ring of Fire, I grow for the foliage only.

And if you get a chance, get H. cylindrica. It's a species and it is a miniature -- very cute and great in a rock garden.

I bought a couple of new ones last fall, but don't remember which ones I got...

Amber Waves is still struggling. Monet and Hercules have died twice on me. So I've given up on the variegated ones.

Top Heuchera

Hollywood - Good Purple foliage and great red flowers.

Autumn Bride - Foliage okay medium green but the huge white inflorescences in Aug-Sept. are great.

H. villosa purpurea - Great in shade when the leaves get 8" wide and nice fall flowers.

Creme Brulee - Actually survives in the garden unlike amber waves.

Keylime Pie

Pewter Veil - oldy but goody

Petite Pearl Fairy - cute cute cute cute. nice flowers.

I cant wait to grow all of the new villosa hybrids.

Compost Worthy Heuchera

Palace Purple - icky flacid foliage. Needs to be retired.

Amber Waves - Not vigorous at all. Creme Brulee is a much better cultivar.

I only have one type so far, 30 clumps of 'Palace Purple' I started from seed 2 years ago. I just ordered 'Dale's Strain' and 'Plum Pudding' from Bluestone, so I'll be expanding my collection a little.

I wish I had read about Amber Waves not being a strong grower sooner! I ordered a couple of them - my FIRST heucheras from Bluestone a week or so ago : (

Maybe I will try Marmalade, or Peach Flambe next time.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to post. So far the most votes are in for:
Lime Rickey, Plum Pudding,Marmalade,Ebony and Ivory,Obsidian,Key Lime Pie, Creme Brulee, and Silver scrolls.The consensus seems to be that Amber Waves is not long lived.
Thanks again.

Forgot to mention that I put in Caramel last year. It was looking good last fall, we'll see if it survives the winter and if so, how it grows this year.

I planted 3 Peach Flambe last sum and they are really spectacular and grew very well. -Also like my Autumn Bride for the flowers.

Just found a Heuchera that I think will be a must have for me this year.
Have you seen Mukdenia rossii Crimson Fans ...Now THAT is one gorgeous plant!
Helen

It will be second year for my mukdenia and first was non remarkable. It dissapeared before it could get that gorgeous coloring... I am growing more mukdenia from seeds this year just to compare behavior

I have Palace Purple (yuck - should be named palace brown), Bressingham (boring), Crown Jewel (love it), and Can Can (love it). Last year I planted Sparkling Burgundy, and one day it just suddenly disappeared. I suspect a squirrel might have dug it up. So I'm going to try that one again next year.

I'm lucky to live near a nursery that carries an extensive variety of heuchera. I've really had to keep myself under control when I'm there! I'm planning to get 5 new varieties this spring. Please post on my thread about what you plant next to your heucheras!

Deanna

Stormy Seas is my go to heuchera. The coloring is similar to Plum Pudding but I find it mor vigorous and adaptable. A really strong grower.

I also really like Autumn Bride for a nice floral display but I haven't been won over by any of the peach/caramel cultivars.

Ted

Rasberry Ice, as it is a good rebloomer here. I would like to try Hollywood and Starry Night.

I just want to say thanks a lot, Playing in the Dirt, for starting this thread. You have created a monster, LOL!!! I became interested in heucheras last fall, but everyone was already sold out of the ones I wanted. Thanks to this thread (and several online catalogs) I have ordered 2 Amber Waves, a Peach Flambe, a Marmalade, and seeds for Palace Purple. Plus, Spotlight, which I know technically is a Heucherella. There are still another half dozen or more that I have my eye on, but I am trying to restrain myself until I see which of the ones I have already ordered do the best, and compliment the other plants in my garden.

Anyone else find these things addicting?

I like the uniqueness the heuchera cultivars bring into the garden. I have grown many different varities, but 'Can Can', 'Amber Waves', 'Peach Flambe' and 'Peppermint Spice' (a vigorous grower with rose flowers)come out on top for over all displays.
Also, I find that 'Amber Waves' grows better in a moist compost/sandy mix soil in partial/dappled shade.

Has anyone grown the edged 'red' heuchera
'Miracle'--it looks stunning!
I've had major success with all my heucheras, but
don't know if this one is a finicky plant

Glad to see all of these positives on Plum Pudding. I got it and Crimson Curls at the end of the season plant sales this fall. Can't wait to see how it does for me this next year. Hope that Crimson Curls stays as red and ruffled as it was in the store. :-)

Up till now my favorites have been Caramel, Mocha & Midnite
Rose. Noticed if you put Citronelle in too much sun the
the leaves get brown & crispy on the edges. Excited about
next years new hybrids especially Miracle. These probably
wont be available till spring 2008. As fast as the new
varieties are coming out, it's hard to keep up, even for
an addict. LOL Good gardening & Happy Holidays to all.

I don't have a lot of experience with heucheras (I only have a few small seed-grown Palace Purples which haven't done much yet) but I bought a few Silver Scrolls heucheras for a friend of mine for a container planting, and I love them!

It helps that they happen to be in a kind of sage-colored green wooden pot, which is absolutely perfect for picking up the color in the leaves, and the purple undersides play off this combination beautifully.

I plan on getting some Silver Scrolls for myself this coming spring. I'm sure when I start looking around, I'll see a lot more heucheras that I will fall in love with. I'm easily addicted, lol!

:)
Dee

I just looked this thread over again. I had said that one of my favorites was 'Sparkling Burgundy'. That was the 1st summer I had it and it was beautiful. But this past summer (it's 2nd), the color was just not there. In Spring it was really nice, but then it went more green. I was really disappointed because it was supposed to keep the burgundy coloring all season. Even in Fall it didn't get it back. I've had a few other new perennials that didn't look like they were advertised to look like. From now on, I will wait 3 yrs before getting any new introductions, perennials or annuals. And I'll see what other gardeners have to say about them after they've had them 3 yrs. The others I mentioned, Ruby Veil, Can Can, Regina, Plum Pudding, and Obsidian I've had at least 3 yrs and they are still looking great. I got Midnight Rose and Hollywood this past summer so I'm hoping they'll do as well this coming summer.

Kat

LOL at Palace Purple being renamed Palace Brown. I see a few of you have this old standby... I have some I rescued from my auntie's wrecking ball, LOL. They look GREAT with Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon' it too has brownish-colored leaves, with a mint green overlay, and chevron markings.

It's a very vigorous grower, but I've not had much success with over-wintering it, so I put mine in a pot this year. It has red stems and white fluffy ball flowers in the fall. My pot was black with brown stripes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Dragon Companion for Palace Purple

It's either Peach Flambe or Peach Melba (can't remember which) -- my very first heuchera! Got it at Lowe's on a whim because of the color -- orange and pink. Stunning plant. Can't wait to try more of it and some of the others named here. What are some good sources (besides the few offered by Bluestone) for finding them online?

One excellent source is in your neck of the woods - Garden
Crossings. Others IMO are Lazy S'S and Sooner Plant Farm.
Eminence Meadows has the largest variety but has $15.00
Trans Chg and 3 1/2" pots. Try locally first as you can
usually find larger plants for same or less money. Make
use of Garden Watchdog before online purchase. Good Luck.

Thanks a bunch, fleur_guy! I've heard of Garden Crossings, but never actually ventured over to the site. It's good to have a couple of backups in case I can't find them at a nursery.

Can anyone tell me how they propagate these? I understand that the species can be broken up and basically divided in place, without worries about losing much. My SIL says that when they begin heaving themselves out of the ground, she plucks off a few woody sections, sticks them into the soil, and, viola, new plants. (Sorry if this is a little far off topic.) Can you do the same thing with the new varieties?

I really love the species, with those mottled silvery green leaves and dainty red flowers, so that's what I've got, mostly. I also like *all* the red-leaved varieties, but have shied away from the peachy leaved ones because they seem like they'd look out of place in my garden; I've got enough going on with foliage colors and textures without that particular kind of foliage. Oh heck, maybe next year!

As for Palace Purple turning brown, it seems to do that most when it's in too much sun, at least in my garden. I still like it quite a bit in the right setting. My favorite clump of it gets back-lit in late afternoon at certain times of year, and absolutely glows.

The newest Heuchera are so great. I have already ordered most ot them. The one that is the most promising so far is Blackout. 'Course they all came in 2" pots so it is hard to really tell yet. I have them sitting on a cookie sheet in front of the sliding glass doors which face the south so they are getting a good amounf of sun. We are still getting frost in the morning so I don't want to put them out in the shade garden yet. I have quite a few of them out in the garden and the ones I am drawn to are Starry Night , Midnight Rose and Quilter's Joy. Burnished Bronze is a heucharella and it is great too. Next to Hosta, they are my passion.

15 years ago, coral bells were sort of interesting shade ground covers, which really lost their glow in too much sun. Now, there has been an explosion in the number of available cultivars, and they all seem to be absolutely exquisite. I love the peachy ones like Southern Comfort.

I have a shady spot under a Sweet Gum tree and am trying to bring some light to it with green/white varigated Coral Bell plants. I have, I think, Hercules. (The other green/white varigated cultivars are, I think, Snow Angel and Monet.) I put them in this spring and they are still thriving. We'll see. I underplanted them with bright chartreuse Creeping Jenny. The bed is tough to grow stuff in, since a large area of it is sucked dry by the tree, and there is little planting depth due to tree roots. I think Coral Bells are prone to heaving unless planted really deep in wonderful loamy soil.

I don't have great luck with Heucheras, I've lost a lot of them over the years. I keep trying, though.

The one that is a stunner in my bed, though, is Plum Pudding. The drift is in full sun and this cultivar holds its rich color beautifully, no fading. It is vigorous for me and just looks fantastic.

Silver Scrolls is holding its own. They're growing okay - not vigorously but okay - but I'm disappointed that the foliage fades out in the sun.

I bought two new cultivars, the names of which escape me this time of night, and so far so good, but it's only their first year, time will tell.

Lurker jumping in here ...

I enjoyed reading this thread and am intrigued by many of the varieties mentioned. However, for the most part you all didn't discuss the flowers. I know, Heucheras are grown primarily for foliage. But, I am looking for one (or more) that have very good, long lasting flower displays in pink to red-pink colors.

I have several of the purple-leaved varieties (Palace Brown, Amethyst Mist, something else) and while I love the foliage, the flowers are unremarkable to say the least. I have one green leaved variety and have no idea what it is. It is one of those that is passed along from person to person and so is probably an older variety. While the foliage is rather boring, the flower display is great. Many stems of pink flowers starting late spring and lasting until fall.

I have a specific location that I want a Heuchera with that type of flowering (I can divide this one, but was thinking it would be fun to expand my collection). The area in question gets sun from about 1-5 pm, otherwise shady.

Thanks for the help.

Oh shoot, never mind. I should have finished searching before writing into this thread. I found a thread that discusses this. thanks anyways.

Hello to all Heuchera enthusiasts in the USA,

I am crazy for Heucheras as well, but my great passion is to rise them from seeds. So I meanwhile have many different looking plants with greenish and redish leaves, but none of them is named. So may I ask if here is anyboby collecting seeds from his/her Heucheras and could send them to me?

Best regards from Germany
Gartenbiene

I have probably 14 or more different kinds. As most of you probably know, some are hardier than others. I planted 6 Crimson Curls last summer: 2 died before fall, 2 more over the winter, and now the last 2 died. Just thought IÂd warn anyone considering that variety. So far, of the exotic ones, varieties with dark purple leaves seem the best for hardiness. The chartreuse, amber or silver veined ones are more likely to kick the bucket, even after a few years of apparently seeming happy.