For colorful plants that look fantastic in every season, look no further than Heucheras! Heucheras, or Coral Bells, lead with their uniquely colored foliage to bring attractive, year-round interest to container plantings and landscape beds alike.
Why Every Garden Needs a Heuchera
While many landscape plants have a season or two where they shine, there are some that look good 12 months of the year. Among evergreen plants, Heuchera is a clear winner when it comes to versatility and usefulness in container plantings and garden beds.
Commonly referred to as Coral Bells, Heucheras are prized for their bold, colorful foliage in every shade of purple, amber, red, chartreuse, through to nearly black. Many cultivars add to their beauty with delicate blooms in Spring and Summer in shades of pink and white that are also attractive to bees and hummingbirds, making them an unlikely but useful pollinator plant.
For steady, reliable color in the garden, look to Heuchera as a must-have, easy-going, evergreen perennial.
How to Use Heucheras in Garden Design
Heucheras are versatile perennials that Pacific Northwest gardeners can utilize in a number of different ways. Coral Bells look fantastic when used in potted container plantings but can also be planted directly in the ground.
Growing Heucheras in Container Gardens
The striking foliage and naturally compact nature of Heucheras perfectly suits mixed container plantings. Because they are evergreen, long-lived perennials, Heucheras can be left in containers as a year-round filler, or removed and planted in the landscape when containers are refreshed.
Heucheras are an essential element in permanent, long-lasting Pacific Northwest-style container plantings next to evergreen thrillers like columnar conifers, alongside evergreen flowering plants like Hellebores or Heather, and beside textural spillers like wire vine.
To use Heuchera as a complement to seasonal, annual plantings, pair them with flowers that highlight the goodness of the season:
- In Autumn containers, use Heuchera in tawny tones alongside ornamental grasses, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, and Pansies to create a warm, celebratory container.
- In Winter and Early Spring containers, use dark or light Heuchera to ground the delicate blooms of Winter Pansies and Violas, Cyclamen, and Primroses.
- Refresh Springtime containers with Ranunculus and flowering bulbs where the curled, leathery leaves of Heucheras will help anchor the whimsical, ephemeral flowers.
- In Summer containers, the rainbow of colors of Heuchera help tie in any flowerful container with Calibrachoa or Geraniums, and can even feel at home surrounded by splashy Tropical plants.
Growing Heucheras in the Landscape
The low-growing, naturally mounding habit of Heucheras makes them perfect accents in both simple and more complex planting schemes alike. In most cases, Heucheras should be planted towards the front of the border, whether they are being used to provide understory plantings to larger shrubs, or pulling together a looser, more flower-forward look.
- Heucheras are a foundational element in Pacific Northwest-style garden designs, where their rich tones and evergreen nature make them a natural fit for the cool blue tones of conifers, red leaves of maples, and mauve flowers of Hellebores.
- In Modern landscapes, lean on black or electric green Heucheras to contrast with and enhance more linear, textural planting schemes.
- When using Heucheras in Cottage or Bohemian garden designs, their evergreen leaves help highlight floral color palettes in the Summer and provide some interest in the Wintertime when other perennial flower plantings have gone dormant.
- Heucheras even have a place in Traditional or Tropical gardens as a way to echo the plant color palette at the lowest layer of the landscape.
The Best Heuchera Varieties by Color
Heuchera leaves may appear leathery and smooth, or curled and ruffled. To determine which look is right for your planting, it's always best to lean into your own personal preferences and aesthetics, but here are helpful guidelines and a list of our favorite Heuchera varieties by color.
Black Heucheras add undeniable drama and the deep colors enrich planting schemes to provide a useful, grounding element.
- Obsidian – healthy leaves are nearly black with mahogany undertones
- Black Forest Cake – rich, shiny black leaves contrast with bright pink flowers
- Midnight Rose – black leaves are speckled with pink freckles
- Northern Exposure Black – large, cold-tolerant leaves are deep purple to black
Purple Heucheras give containers and landscapes a sophisticated, classic look with both cool and warm-toned options available.
- Forever Purple – true, vibrant purple leaves and subtle veining
- Glitter – intense, grey coloring over soft purple leaves
- Plum Pudding – warm purple with curled, ruffled leaves
- Northern Exposure Silver – cold-tolerant purple leaves age to silver
Red Heucheras: With pink and terracotta tones, these Heucheras add warmth and depth to almost any color combination.
- Rio – large, wavy leaves run the spectrum of red to amber
- Forever Red – deep, rich red leaves are wavy and uniform
- Carnival Watermelon – terracotta plants sport bright pink new growth
- Berry Smoothie – large leaves have deep raspberry-hued foliage
Amber and Peach Heucheras make planting combos appear more romantic and relaxed by adding contrasting foliage without overwhelming planting schemes.
- Marmalade – soft amber leans peach or mustard depending on the angle of the leaf
- Zipper – tawny on top with bright pink undersides on deeply ruffled leaves
- Changeling – new growth emerges rich peach and ages to softer ochre
- Caramel – consistent, clearly caramel leaves are smooth and uniform
Chartreuse and Lime Green Heucheras electrify planting combos with their vibrant, glow-in-the-dark leaves, and look particularly good in shady combinations.
- Lime Marmalade – bright chartreuse that holds its color in sun or shade
- Red Lightning – Striking red veining lays overtop of brilliant yellow leaves
- Fyre Wing Heliodor – Fine-cut, unique leaves have brilliant green and orange coloration
- Paris – Green leaves with white webbing produce large sprays of pink blooms
New introductions like the Fyre Wing Heuchera series from Monrovia provide gardeners with a never-before-seen leaf form that is both delicate and eye-catching. With finely cut leaves available in almost every color known to Coral Bells, these new Heucheras are destined to become a container favorite!
How to Grow & Care for Heucheras
Coral Bells are incredibly versatile plants that are well-suited to many different light levels, soil types, and levels of water.
Heuchera can tolerate most light environments ranging from sun to shade—ideal light levels depend on the cultivar. In general, leaf color will be stronger and more intense in the sun, and duller or tamer in the shade. In most cases, the darker the foliage, the more sun that variety can tolerate. Pale or chartreuse cultivars like 'Lime Marmalade' may burn in direct, hot afternoon sun.
Many types of Heucheras can withstand hot and dry conditions and are fairly drought-tolerant once established. To establish Heuchera, provide regular water, especially for young plants in the Summer heat. Just be sure to avoid heavy, waterlogged soils—average soil moisture is best. Heuchera can be fertilized with an organic, all-purpose fertilizer in Spring to promote healthy new growth, but avoid the use of high nitrogen feeds which can lead to floppy growth and poor coloration.
Shopping for Heucheras
Our Oregon and SW Washington garden centers are well-stocked with brilliant Heuchera plants all year round. The best way to select a Heuchera is to pick the one that is most appealing to you and best fits your aesthetic! Stop in any month of year to find the perfect Heuchera for your landscape or container garden.