skip to main content

Perennials New England Gardening

Overwhelmed with heuchera choices!

diggerdee zone 6 CT

8 months ago

I put in a small part-shade garden for my daughter this spring, and wanted to add some heucheras for color. I finally decided on a purple leafed one (that only took me a few months of agonizing lol) but now I realize there's still a lot to choose from!

Anyone have any experience with the following? Or have something different to recommend? The list below is not written in stone - it's just the purples Bluestone has available. Kind of afraid to look around much more haha!

Grande Amethyst - nice size, nice color, supposed humidity and heat tolerance

Primo Wild Rose - smaller, beautiful color, supposed vigor and ease of growing

Northern Exposure Purple - good size, color is okay (I prefer the others above colorwise), supposed cold-hardiness and nice foliage late into season

Forever Purple - decent size, supposedly adaptable, lots of awards

Shanghai, Grape Expectations, Grape Timeless - these are all lower down on my list for looks, but open to feedback if anyone has experience with them

I appreciate any input or experiences anyone has to offer.

Thanks!

:)

Dee

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

sherrygirl zone5 N il
8 months ago
last modified: 8 months ago
I am in 5a and have had good results with Grape Expectations, have not had any of the others you listed. Is Green Spice available? It is my best grower here and I love the colors in it. photo below.

Sherry
kitasei2
8 months ago
Their vigor varies widely. I have foubd the original purple to be the hardiest
Related Discussions
Overwhelmed by pool choices...help?
Q
Comments (2)
A lot of decisions depend on your location (weather, usage), the resale values in the neighborhood of homes with pools, etc. Do you have any friends with pools that you could actually discuss options with them? Go swimming in their pool? Perhaps you could look online at homes for sale with pools, to see what the pool areas are like. Or just throw out resale altogether, set your budget, and then rank options. The biggest expense people forget is additional decking, which is usually not included in pool quotes. It would also be very interesting to ask each child what they would love in a pool!
...See More
Overwhelmed with choice of backsplash.
Q
Comments (8)
on the screen, the counter with all it's brown and gold is making your cabinet color appear really gray. In real life , in your space has to be the location to decide this. But all these backsplash options appear to draw from the golds and browns in the counter and then the grayish tint in the cabinet color is even more pronounced. I think a light warm gray tile-close to taupe - that works with the cabinet paint color and the counter is where you are headed as opposed to all the caramel and browns which are not working with the cabinets. But again, in the actual space, it may be a different story. You may end up with a white from the way it looks: from the screen.
...See More
The bones of it all choices too overwhelming.
Q
Comments (18)
One of the nice things about a non-open floor plan is that you have more flexibility in changing up decor or colors from one room to the next. In an open floor plan, painted kitchen cabs can look jarring when the rest of the space has stained cabinets and trim. In an enclosed kitchen you only need to worry about about the framed view through the doorway, and I don't see that as being a problem if your living room is typical of your decor. With respect to using the types of materials they had back then, I tend to approach it instead with the attitude, "If a person from the 30s with a 1930s aesthetic had access to modern materials, what would they have done?" That gives you more options. I shoot for vintage-ish, not "pass for original" vintage. Are you doing hardwood floors in the kitchen? Matching the rest of the house? Or are you doing something else? I find it hard to pair wood cabinets with wood floors (I want there to be some contrast, not too matchy-matchy, but oh the floor is reddish and the cabs I want are more yellow...). I don't think it's an accident that hardwood floors became popular in kitchens around the same time that white cabinets became really big, as they balance each other. Wood on wood doubles down. Where I am going with that is that if you carry the wood floor and wood trim into the kitchen, I would go with painted cabinets. If you are going to go for a different flooring (Marmoleum is very 30s), having the cabinets echo the wood colors elsewhere in the house would be nice.
...See More
Overwhelmed with paint choices!
Q
Comments (2)
Ok... any color palate that you think would look nice?
...See More
mxk3 z5b_MI
8 months ago
Grape Expectations is one of the only heuchera that has not petered out on me -- so in my book he's a winner.
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
8 months ago
I don't have a lot of experience with heucheras, but yes, one of my concerns is vigor. The few I've had have indeed petered out so I would like something more vigorous. Maybe Grape Expectations is the way to go.

Kitasei2 what is the original purple?

Thanks!

:)

Dee
kitasei2
8 months ago
Not sure but you should be safe if you stay away from the other colors. In winter mulxh the crowns which tend to heave in our zone's volatile temperaturas and snow cover. Divide in soring nit fall.
peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
8 months ago
last modified: 8 months ago
Palace Purple was one of the the original hybrids. It is a great performer and long lived. Look for anything with villosa heritage since they are the best for the east. Many were bred on the west coast and we generally have trouble with those.
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
8 months ago
Ah yes, I remember Palace Purple now that you've jogged my memory. Thanks peren.all. I believe that one of those listed above has villosa heritage so I will go back and read more carefully.

Thanks!

:)

Dee
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
8 months ago
last modified: 8 months ago
As I gain knowledge about how to grow heuchera, I have found that the oldies are the hardiest. I have had Plum Pudding for many years. I also have some unnamed varieties that I am sure are one of those "oldies." They are tough, but they don't have the grand coloring that the new ones have.

Now I have ventured out to try the new hybrids that offer more color. I lost my original Wild Rose to rot, but now am trying for a second time. I bought it this year and it has remained in the same pot with the same media. It is gorgeous.

Forever Purple was stunning, but then rotted also. I now have Forever Red. So far, so good (overwintered one year).

What I have learned is that these heuchera don't like clay soil. They love good drainage and hate wet winters.

They also like raised beds because they usually offer better drainage. I haven't lost one in my raised beds.
djacob Z6a SE WI
8 months ago
Palace Purple and Caramel have been good for me for some time. Newer ones, Electric Lime and Mint Frost are only a year one. Sherry, your Green Spice is beautiful!

debra
sherrygirl zone5 N il
8 months ago
last modified: 8 months ago
I have had Green Spice in my gardens for severals years in many different spots. It is my best performer other than the ”original” purple heuchera. I will repeat that Autumn Bride will grow any where here, full shade, mostly sun and with root competition, dry soil. I place it where nothing else does well.

Sherry

Related Stories

DESIGNING A BUSINESS Designing a Business: How to Avoid Client Choice Overload

By Design for a Living

Design business coach Chelsea Coryell shares an efficient strategy for creating the best design solutions for a client

BEDROOMS Readers' Choice: The Top Bedrooms of 2010

By Lily Gahagan

These Bedrooms Won With Welcoming Colors, Romantic Lighting and Tailored Details

WOOD Woodipedia: Make a Solid Choice With Oak

By Marci Crestani

Forget those low-end products of old. Red and white oak today are beautiful, versatile and relatively inexpensive

REMODELING GUIDES Material Choices: High Marks for Reinforced Concrete

Try poured-in-place construction for a wonderfully tactile, industrial look

LATEST NEWS FOR PROFESSIONALS ‘Help Clients Narrow Down Choices’ and Other Advice From Pros

By Mitchell Parker

Home design and building professionals share tips they learned from recently completed projects

0

COLOR Pick-a-Paint Help: How to Quit Procrastinating on Color Choice

By Laura Gaskill

If you're up to your ears in paint chips but no further to pinning down a hue, our new 3-part series is for you

COLORS OF THE YEAR Designers Around the World React to Pantone’s 2019 Color Choice

International design pros offer tips on how to use Living Coral, Pantone’s Color of the Year 2019, in home decor

DECORATING GUIDES How to Create Flow and Cohesion With Your Design Choices

By Laura Gaskill

These 8 tips can help you select products, finishes and styles that work together from room to room

INSIDE HOUZZ The Most Popular Styles and Cabinet Choices in Kitchen Remodels

By Erin Carlyle

Transitional remains the No. 1 style as farmhouse loses steam, according to the 2020 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study

KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS Kitchen Counters: Granite, Still a Go-to Surface Choice

By Ivon Street Studio

Every slab of this natural stone is one of a kind — but there are things to watch for while you're admiring its unique beauty

Sponsored

T. Walton Carr, Architects

Franklin County's Preferred Architectural Firm | Best of Houzz Winner

More Discussions

Hellebores...what speeds up growth?

15

The last big sowing of the season

11

blue moon woodland phlox

11

Jeffersonia dubia, a spring charmer if there ever was one!

15

Your MAY 2024 highlights

2