I'm really good at killing them too! I will get them when super discounted or in trade. I've found they don't like my shady areas. Those areas hold too much moisture in the winter for their liking it seems. The few I've planted in much drier areas like in a sunny border but under a shrub seem to have survived at a better rate.
I have much better luck with tiarellas in my shady areas and handling the winter moisture.
Remy

I forgot to mention that I lost a Creme Brule; I forgot to mention it because he barely made it past five months in my garden! Ive given up on buying the newer Heuchera (and Coneflowers), there just too expencive and dont seem to last long at all. I saw Midnight Rose and Ginger Ale at a local plant fair, but I didnt want to waste my money on them. I guess most of them will just have to be treated as a tender perennial or annual. I agree with Remy that Tiarella, a cousin of Heuchera, is a great alternitive. Tellima grandiflora (a Pasific NW native) is also another great option.
CMK

I lost a Creme Brulee last year. I'm a sucker for heucheras with the golden/orange/russet tones.

I have H. villosa 'Autumn Bride' in dry shade. Planted under the canopy of a 30 year old Pin Oak and it seems happy. I love the large, fuzzy leaves.

I also have a problem with squirrels digging my heucheras. It's no use trying to outsmart those critters.

Gardengal48-Thanks for passing along the information reagarding the Dolce series.

Linnea56-Thanks for confirming the foliage color for me. It's sometimes hard to judge the color through photos.

I lost two "Silver Scrolls" after their second year.

I just planted 2 Stormy Seas, 4 Velvet Night, and 1 Mint Frost. I hope they do well!

I have been watching this posting with some interest. I too have found that Heucheras are somewhat iffy plants in my wettish zone 5 garden. They are simply nowhere as sturdy as things like hosta, daylilies, geraniums, phlox and so many more. Almost anything else in my garden, including things that are "drought tolerant" and prefer dry soil, do better than heucheras in my garden.

Last years non-winter/freezing spring did in a bunch of mine and this summer for no reason at all one of my very pretty Peach Flambes just faded away. The rest of the PFs look exactly like they did last year. Perfect, but no obvious topside growth that I can see. All the nearby Caramels (these are all third year plants) are growing bigger and look great.

The problems with Heucheras in my garden seem to be multiple. First there is the overall wet soil, although I manage to grow catmint just fine, never had one of those die yet. Next is winter wet. Wet added to cold just doesn't seem to work well for heucheras.

Then there is heaving, which I get pretty tired of, then there is woodiness, some heucheras far worse than others, and all that splitting, tossing out hard bits, and replanting gets tiresome too.

Next is the shade/sun issue. Most part shade plants do well in quite a bit of sun in zone 5, but not Heuchera, well not lots of them anyway, but they also don't seem to want to grow much in shade, being little shrimpy things.

Funny thing is that some of my light colored ones do just great in lots of sun, while the darker ones fade or crisp. In addition some heucheras, like Palace Purple and Green Spice, go on for years, while others have a two or three year life span at best.

Don't even get me started on Heucherellas or Tiarellas! To be fair, I do have one spreading tiarella (not a clumper) that does great in dry shade, and one nice Heucherella Burnished Bronze that has been in my garden for years and looks lovely, but the rest (of the many I have tried) although they seldom die right away, usually are puny shrinking little things.

For me, growing any of these plants is a complete toss-up.

Leslie - know what you mean about heucherella and tiarella. Every one I've ever planted died off the next season or eventually withered away bit by bit each season until finally disappeared. BAH!

I also grown number of fancy hybrids in my shady garden and same as many people before came to conclusion that heuchera hybrids are short lived perennials/ annuals in my garden. Yeah, sure I have couple of Plum Pudding and such surviving several years in a row but the only ones that did great and look like they champions are those that I grown from seeds americana Dale strain. Some of them turned out to have very fine foliage dark or marbled, color and shape and I love their blooms.
There is number of other perennials/ annuals grown for foliage and I decided to be happy with them.
For those who is not blessed with heucheras but want something stand out in their gardens- take a look at cryptotaenia japonica atropurpurea, various poligonums- painters palette and lance corporal,
tellima grandiflora, mukdenia rossii Crimson falls, peltoboykinia watanabei and tellimoides, mitella diphylla- all of them easily grown from seed.
And if I am going to have something short lived , it is going to be something as beautiful as various coleus- easy from seed or cuttings and there is no end to varieties.
And for those who really want to have fancy different foliage- various veggies like beets/ beta/, kale and mustards- brassica oleracea, juncea, also some swiss chards- will give excellent show of foliage for the fraction of cost.

I have bought 'Plum Pudding" several times over the years, only to disappoint in my shade garden. This summer, at the end of June, I was inspired (for color reasons) to move the little bugger to my new bed in the full sun (z6). It's growing like crazy!! I can't get over how happy it is - and I am - in this location! Looking forward to seeing how it does next year.
Judye

My heucheras grow in three areas of my garden. One area where they get about four hours of sun, another area where they get only mid-day shade and then I grow some in pots in full sun.

Amber Waves is still struggling -- it's year 4.

Snowstorm lived about three years, Hercules two years. Chocolate Veil and Pewter Veil did make it through their first winter.

Oldies but goodies (thrived for 5 or more years): Ebony and Ivory, Cherries Jubilee, Velvet Night, Ring of Fire, Silver Scrolls, Vesuvius

2-5 years old: Hearts on Fire, Lime Rickey, Swirling Fantasy, Peach Flambe, Champagne

New: Midnight Rose, Hollywood, Peach Melba

My short list of a good performers (at least 3 years old, increasing in size and healthy overall):
-Plum Pudding,
-Caramel,
-Prince of Silver,
-Elizabeth Oliver (classic tiarella)

The last one amazes me the most, it's in a full sun all year around, planted in a pure not ammended poorly drained clay and singly covering more than a 1 sq.foot of a space.

That's good to know about 'Caramel'. I just bought one on clearance. With the cooler temp.'s (and light frosts) we've been getting here, the leaves have a taken on a fuzzy texture.

Does any one have experience with 'Starry Night'? Just got this beauty, too. The leaf veining is more defined than 'Obsidian'. When placed side-by-side, the difference is noticeable.

The lack of leaf veining - or rather, the pure, solid dark burgundy foliage - of 'Obsidian' is one of its primary attractions. I'm not sure I would even consider comparing the two, as their attributes are quite different. 'Starry Night' is a bit of a non-starter here - not a robust performer or a hot sell but a rather prodigious flower producer. Reminds me more of 'Ebony and Ivory' than anything else.

The differences in our experiences with heucheras is very interesting!

I was shocked to see that someone lost a 'Regina' or two this year. 'Regina' is one of my most abused (read: moved multiple times each season and then promptly forgotten about/neglected) plants and she's still going strong. I keep thinking I should just get rid of her (she's so pretty--I don't "do" pretty very well) but then I admire her toughness so that I end up keeping her.

I am rather disheartened to read this thread! I am a foliage freak so, of course, I love the colors of the newer heucheras. I have only ever planted an 'Amber Waves' in my yard and it faded away quick. To be fair, I'm in a hot, dry climate and I didn't give it the best location.

I joined a plant swap group this winter and I'll be getting plug-sized plants of many of the newer heucheras. Of most interest will be the ones hybridized in France which are supposed to take the heat better. I didn't order all of those varieties but I did get:

Caramel
Citronelle
Pistache
Encore
Blackout
Beaujolais

I'm also getting some other beauties:

Miracle
Tiramisu

And from the Terranova Nurseries swap:

Southern Comfort
Mahogany
Snowfire
Heucherella 'Alabama Sunrise'

Now I'm nervous about it! I've got ideal soil conditions (thanks to heavy ammending). I've also got netafim subsurface drip irrigation throughout the bed. You know, I wonder if that will make a big difference? Perhaps they don't like wet leaves? I know many plants prefer to be watered that way. I guess I'll find out this summer.

The good news is that I'm not out more than $3-$4 for any one plant so if they don't do fantastic, It's not as big a hit as it would be at full retail.

In my dry climate, as a rule, darker-leaved Heucheras with shiny leaves have done best for me: Crimson Curls, Can Can, Palace Purple, Obsidian, Mahogany. Others doing well include Cherries Jubilee, Eco-Magnifolia and Lime Rickey.

Orange-toned Heucheras have faded away completely for me, including Amber Waves, Marmalade and Mardi Gras. Also among the corpses are the silver-leaved varieties like Stormy Seas.

Oh, Bindersbee, I'm envious of you! I would love to have 'Miracle' and 'Tiramisu', as well as some of the others, but I'm not willing to pay "new release" prices, so I guess I'll wait another year on those.

The past couple of weeks we have had quite a bit of snow melt, and when I went out to look around the garden, I discovered a rabbit had eaten last year's best performer, 'Creme Brulee'. It looks like 'Dale's Strain', 'Amethyst Myst', and 'Marmalade' made it through the winter, but 'Amber Waves' is still buried under the snow, so I'm not sure about that one.

So do they usually grow back after rabbit damage?

Bonnie

Yes, I have had Heucheras grow back after winter rabbit damage. I try to protect them from the critters, but don't always get to it in the fall. In my opinion, the so-called "evergreen" foliage always looks ratty after the winter anyway, so I end up cutting off most of the old leaves in the spring. You may have to replant the crowns if the plants heave out of the ground over the winter. As long as the crown is OK, the new foliage does grow in and the plant fills out and blooms.

Here's the thing with Heucheras:

I read somewhere that all the strains out there can be traced back to the plain jane native green heuchera. A nursery in North Carolina that noticed that they had a tendency to develop mutatations rather easily - sporting color variations in the leaves and that were easy to cross with others.

I have the native species and it resembles a miniature Lady's Mantle in the leaf form. It's not as exciting to look at (it has a more subtle beauty as an all green plant)but it is tough as nails - I only have a small clump of it but it has never rotted out and I have heavy black soil and it's been there for almost 9 years.

I think the farther away you get the from the species the more problems seem to develop. The fancy ones have more color in the leaves (hence less chlorophyll) and therefore are weaker. Heucheras (as mentioned above) are also prone crown rot. And finally, root nematodes find them tasty as due the deer.

I'll try and post a picture in photobucket - I just have to look through my files to fina a good picture of it to post.

It's almost impossible to find though - even with the native plant nurseries.

I saw someone said they don't care for the orange colored ones. I have tried 3. First Amber Waves, it is only about the same size after 3+ years. Then I got Marmalade, seems a little tuffer than the amber waves, Last year I got Caramel. It's doing the best of all. I love the color because they all look so great planted near the 'Autumn Fern'. The ones I have that do best are planted under a big old pine tree near it's drip line. Quite dry for sure, acid soil and some late afternoon sun.

Just realized today that, in addition to the ones listed above, I have lost 2 Mocha Mint as well.

I killed a bunch of Palace Purple, but Green Spice and Plum Pudding have done well for me for about 3 years.

I have found they do best in pots for me, especially if I move them to full sun in the winter and spring and feed them a lot.

The ones in the ground do best with lots of food. I use coffee grounds, which are high in nitrogen.

Isn't it interesting how different everyone's experiences are with this plant. For example, putting Heuchera in a container has been the kiss of death for mine, and for Karchita, they do great there. If you read through the other posts, the same ones that have died for some, have thrived for others. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to it.

Overall, I'm at about a 60% survival rate.
Here is my scorecard:

Died

Peach Flambe
Crimson Curls
Spotlight
Dale's Strain

Survivors

2 Amber Waves
2 Creme Brulee (in spite of the rabbits)
Marmalade
Amethyst Mist

Part of me wants to say that I won't spend any more money on them, no matter how beautiful the foliage, but ... but what about all of the new ones I haven't tried yet. Maybe one of them will be stronger ; )

Bonnie

I think it is very interesting how differently these plants have done for people. Two thoughts ...

My Palace Purples were the first ones I had and now I know how to take care of them better, so it may not be the variety that was the problem.

Also different zones can make a huge difference. For example, they don't frost heave here because my soil never freezes deeply enough. I think the key for my success in pots has to do with getting them the light they need in the winter as much as anything. Shade during our northern, grey winter means very little light, but shade in a southern, sunnier climate means much more light.

Karchita, could be the drainage is better in the pots then your gardens. I've read too that they don't like soggy soils. All of mine are in well drained soil (ground) and I've never lost any. Most of mine I've had for more than 5 yrs, 2 of them I've had for 11 yrs. I've never fertilized any of my gardens. I do turn the mulch back into the ground, but that's it.
I guess whatever works, we should keep doing it. :)

Kat

I've found that if I pull mine up about every two years and replant them I don't lose these. I've also noted that these do upheave because of freezing and thawing, as other readers have noted.

Years ago, I lost a 'Plum Pudding' that up and died on me before the fall. Then this year I noticed one of my 'Snow Angel's died and didn't come back from the winter we had (not too cold or overly wet) I just bought a new one and will see how it does. I have had poor luck with one called 'Petite Pearl Fairy' which is a miniature heuchera with very small leaves and pearl pink flowers. One has survived 2 winters but I have been unable to get the 2nd one near it to survive 1 winter. I have now purchased a new one called 'Midnight Rose' (2 of them) and will plant them between the surviving 'Petite Pearl Fairy'. I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:276896}}

Kat,
I don't think drainage is the problem. I have so much compost in my beds, the drainage is excellent and if anything it's better than in the pots.

The heuchera that haven't done well for me have not rotted or even quite died, they just come back very small and slow growing. That suggests to me a nutrient problem. I also read somewhere that they are heavy feeders, so while I don't fertilize much in general, I started giving the hercheras a couple of top-dressings of coffee grounds in the spring and that seems to help a lot. Ccoffee grounds are so high in nitrogen that I think of them as a fertilizer.

If I do that and let them sun bathe in early spring on my warm, west-facing patio, they are huge and gorgeous.

Jazzmom, I got 'Midnight Rose' last summer. We had a really long cold winter with a total of 100" of snow and it is growing great. It gets sun from early morning until around 2pm. Good luck on yours!
Karchita, the grounds you use....are they regular or decaf? I like regular coffee, but only drink it when we go out to eat. Hubby drinks a lot of decaf at home. Just wondering if there would be a difference with which kind you use.

Kat

My Heuchera is the old variety... don't remember its name... green w/red stems and flowers. They are doing fine BUT I have mine in a great deal of sun, I'd say full direct sun in the morning and then indirect for most of the day as the sun goes across the sky. They are never in shade.

Same with my Tiralleas. They looked really sad in a shaded bed until two years ago when I moved them into direct sun... I mean all day from morning until about 4 or 5 when the sun moves behind the trees across the river.. This season they are magnificent clumps. To tell you the truth, I was ready to ditch both of these guys until I gave them one last chance .... in the sun.

I'm thinking that because I live along a river where the air is very moist... maybe they need more of the sun's heat?? I really don't know but it's strange that both of these are doing so well in full sun.

Molie

According to something I read from the University of IL, some hybrids are more tolerant of heat, humidity and sunlight. The most important thing they stress is excellent drainage in the winter. That's probably the reason for most of the winter die offs.

Kat, I get bags of used coffee grounds for free from Starbucks. They have a corporate policy of bagging them up and giving them away to gardeners. I use most of them in my compost bin and as lawn fertilizer, but I lightly top dress my heuchera, ornamental grasses and hostas in the spring. A bonus is the grounds seem to keep slugs away, too. YMMV. It doesn't matter if the grounds are regular or decaf and the acidity is nearly neutral, not acidic as commonly believed. There is more info in the Soil Forum FAQs.

Thanks for the coffee grounds tip, Karchita. I've been dumping most of my grounds in the veggie garden, but this week I started putting some around my heucheras, so will see if it makes a difference.

Bonnie

Thanks Karchita for the info. I'm going to start saving them too. I don't have a compost bin, but I have plenty of gardening space I could add them too.

Kat

Boy am I disheartened when reading all these Heuchera eulogies...LOL. When a novice such as myself reads the catalog and article information for Heucheras they ALL say it's one of "easiest perennials around" and I actually believed that consistent promo. Guess they really mean it when they say "moist but well drained" and I can't just skip over those seemingly innocuous words as I'm drooling over the Heuchera foliage photos.

After reading this thread I'm still going to find a couple Amethyst Mist because I just "need" it for a back garden with fall/winter morning shade/afternoon full sun, spring/summer morning shade/midday full sun/afternoon tree dappled shade to shade in soil that's not very well draining up against foundation wall.

Getting ready to further amend bed for better drainage for all plants going in there and will raise it further above substrate clay soil to get MUCH better drainage for Heucheras.

Even if they only survive this first year I'll be thrilled to have those little beauties mixed in with Corydalis Blackberry Wine, Foxglove Camelot Rose, Lobelia Ruby Slippers, Lamium Purple Dragon, Dwarf Goatsbeard and whatever part shade annuals I need to fill out bed. It's a small garden (22' x 3') that I can't overload it but it's been an empty slate of nonblooming Iris that I moved out last fall and it NEEDS some color, form, texture and everything great that comes from a nice little garden.

I'm going for it with the Heucheras. Didn't know they supposedly attract slugs. That was reason I stayed away from Hostas. Was going to treat garden anyway with some slug stuff I got because of high moisture there so will just keep fingers crossed the little buggers don't do in my Amethyst Mists! The chipmunks and rabbits are another story.

Just one season...LOL. That's all I ask at this point.

I just plopped three Palace Purple in the ground at the beginning of the season so I have my fingers crossed. Mine are in a shady, raised bed with very well drained soil in what was a really dry area. So far they have taken little effort to keep looking nice but the warmer weather hasn't really kicked in yet. We will see...

I have just planted some of these heucheras this spring. I hope that I won't have a problem. I just wanted to say that I was told by the local nursery that when heuchera gets "leggy" to simply dig the hole deeper and plant the stems with the roots so that the leaves are only showing. Sorry if someone has already said to do this on this forum, but I don't really have time to read all of these. Anyway, try this.

To reassure the people just trying these: of the "newer" colored leaf forms Palace Purple is tougher than most (nor is it that new: IÂve had some of mine probably 15 years) . I have never killed one of those (yet). It seems to be more of a problem for varieties bred in the last few years. I have been talking to several people now who have raised these from seed: and the consensus is the seed grown ones are much tougher. Have not tried it myself but since I am hooked on Heuchera, I will have to do it. No idea where to get the seed, though.

There are a few places to obtain Heuchera seed but the variety seems to be limited because the farther away you get from the native the less they seem to come true from seed.

One result says you can collect your own "smaller than miniscule" seeds on your own plants.

Best of luck! Hope you get some plants if you decide to plant from seed. I,on the other hand, just hope I can keep already grown potted plants alive in the garden...LOL.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heuchera Seed Sources

Strawberry root weevils are the bane of my Heucheras.

Lifting the plant, washing off the weevils, replanting, and applications of "Trounce" as a soil drench all help!

I must be the only person ever to have killed a Palace Purple heuchera. LOL! I got it as a freebie from Bluestone Perennials last year and it lived all summer but by fall it was burnt to a crisp, and this spring it was dead. The three Ruby Bells in front of it are still alive, and they are the only heucheras I have at this moment. I plan to order some of the newer ones and see how they do, and they will go in a spot where they will get light shade in the morning, a few hours of direct sun in the afternoon, and shade from the house in the late afternoon-evening when the sun moves. Hopefully they will do well, but we'll see. I've read that heucheras do best with a soil that is neutral in PH, amended well with compost and well-drained in the winter.

Karen

No one has mentioned acidity. I have similar mixed success here in zone 5a in Maine. My soils are pretty acid, but I have some planted in a shady well drained humus/sandy woods, some in a sunny bed (these are growing the most, and are standing up well to some invasive neighbors), and some in the shaded trashy soil beside my house. Something (maybe my cat) dug up some of the new ones, others are doing OK. I plan to do a bit of dividing--what I have is mostly from divisions I rescued from an overgrown bed so I'm not sure the varieties. One is small green with intense red flowers; one is marbled/mottled red and green, one is deep purple. I adore all of them. I had one of the ginger-colored ones, peach melba I think, which didn't make it.

If I have something that I think comes from a more alkaline area (the default assumption here where most of the soil was peat bog a few centuries ago) I throw in some marble chips, sprinkle randomly with wood ashes, etc. Especially western plants tend to want a much more alkaline soil. Ph is always my first suspect when things don't thrive.

So, what pH do these puppies prefer? And do preferences differ across the varieties?

I think the green ones and the green and red marbled ones are probably Dale's strain or something similar. They are very hardy and can be grown easily from seed. I have bought seed and have also harvested it from my own plants. You just let the flowers get completely dry and then strip them off into a container. The seeds are very small, so I don't even try to separate them from the chaff. I wintersow mine and always end up with more than I need. I just planted out a bunch of little ones into a wooded area because I had no where else to put them. I still have a bunch sitting on the deck that need homes, LOL. The hybrid varieties don't come true from seed, but you will probably get an interesting mix if you have other heuchera in the area.

I have never seen anything mentioned about pH being a factor in growing them.

Becky

I've only had losses to root weevils here.

My soil is clay that has been amended and topdressed with compost for fifteen years. I have many of those mentioned in this thread, many over five years old. Some are more robust than others but they are all growing. I've run out of room to put more though...

I have a NOID given to me by a customer long ago that is getting close to twenty years old. Grey green leaves and big sprays of tiny pink flowers, out on the curb with almost no care it blooms and blooms.

I have not done as well with Tiarellas, losing the root weevil war with them.

Ramazz, you are right, I did get some Dale's strain. I really like them--some are silver and green, some are red and green mottles.
I'd love to have them fill in the transition between bed and lawn -- they hold up through all seasons so nicely. I mostly have them mixed with mounding geraniums.

I'm happy to have found this old thread, since it gave me some more insight into how to grow these heucheras and their relatives. I am another person who has always grown these plants in at least part shade, with mixed success. The few that do well for me are heuchera 'Green Spice', heuchera villosa, heuchera cylindrica, heuchera 'Green Ivory',heuchera richardsonii and heuchera 'Frosted Violet'. The native tiarella cordifolia does well in very dry shade under a spruce tree, with almost no attention from me. None of the heucherella cultivars do very well, although most have survived several years. They are all somewhat scrawny. After reading these posts, I am going to try some of my so-so plants in sunnier locations. These include Heucheras Mint Frost, Caramel,and Cathedral Windows, and Heucherellas Stargazer Mercury, Mint Chocolate and Dayglow Pink. The coffee grounds idea is something I am going to try as well. I lost a lovely Obsidian due to winterkill and I believe now it must have been due to poor drainage and excessive shade. I was trying to be kind to it by putting it in a moist spot, but instead I killed it.

I love Heucheras just after you buy them and they look wonderful. [g] After I've had them awhile, they don't always look that great. I started with 'Palace Purple'. I really dislike that plant now. It never looks good. I don't enjoy the color, the size, the habit. The foliage is usually very ratty looking.

I have a few that do well. 'Green Spice' did well for me under a maple of all places. I moved it to a 'better' location and it hasn't looked as well since. 'Stormy Seas', 'Plum Pudding' have done well. I lost Creme Brulee, years ago.

I just bought 'Frosted Violet', 'Gingerale' and 'Midnight Rose'. I have the first two in full shade under a Japanese Maple, and time will tell. 'Midnight Rose' I added to a Hayrack on my front fence. It was a plug so I thought it could add a little size before being planted out. It has tripled in size and the foliage looks pristine. I hope it does as well in the ground.

A couple of my favorites are Green Spice, Obsidian, Plum Pudding, Mini-Mouse, Caramel

I have them in all sorts of locations.

I don't have any that do not do well. Well, not ANYMORE at least ! LOL

I especially love Caramel during late winter/early spring. It is a great bright coral color.

I generally avoid dividing them unless absolutely necessary. In the past, I have seen problems with that. Perhaps wrong time of year or weak varieties. Not sure, but I just generally don't.

4 of 6 Plum Pudding's died on me. The two that have survived have very little foilage. Only about 6" in diameter.

Should I leave them, or dig them up in the fall and amend the soil? They seem so delicate right now.

Thought I'd resurrect this oldie to add that heucheras need fertile free-draining soil especially so in winter. Thats why they look so great in their pots with loam and sandy soil when you buy them. If you ever see them doing very well in a garden notice if they are in raised beds or in a rock garden type of setting. Mine are in raised beds and yes I have lost plenty but through putting them in any afternoon sun, clay soil that hasn't been amended enough, and too much moisture especially in winter.

I believe the darker leaved varieties are more suited to handle sun and drought better as these do naturally grow in rocky slopes in the PNW.

Definitely a stellar foliage plant with so many new varieties coming out every year, it isn't going away any time soon.

Thanks, I have clay soil and I think it drains pretty well, but still. And I have a few in afternoon sun. None of mine did well this year. I suppose I could move them around and try to find a better spot for them.