It wasn’t long ago I was hiking around Blue Ridge Georgia and came across a few terrific looking heuchera or coral bells which I had only seen previously for sale in garden centers. All heuchera species are native to the United States including this Heuchera villosa native in the Southeast from Arkansas to Georgia and north to New York.
Heuchera was the Perennial Plant of the Year in 1991 and since then there are more hybrids and varieties, colors and variegations than we possibly could have ever imagined. When you look at a plant’s tag or a plant for that matter it is next to impossible to identify which ones have the DNA from a species native to your state or region.
But then there are times when “by George” there it is, a variety such as Carmel is labeled as a hybrid variety of Heuchera villosa. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everyone in the country should choose Carmel or one of the other varieties that might be identified as H. villosa but to me, in Georgia, it’s a clue that it might have a little more heat tolerance since Savannah is far from ground zero for the heuchera.
Heucheras are considered perennial in zones 4-9 and tend to be evergreen in the warmer climates. It prefers moist, fertile organic rich soil that drains freely. In the landscape, we promote sun to part sun in the north and part sun to shade in the south. On the other hand, it is an excellent component plant for sunny cool season mixed containers, boxes and even the landscape like you might do for a flowering kale, cabbage or mustard. It will look attractive till the end of the growing season, which is long after the brassicas have bolted and flowered.
