Did you know that August is a great time to make plans for your gardens? It’s too hot to plant, but it’s a great time to envision new perennials in spaces that are empty, or will be empty when annuals are removed.
My new favorite perennial is Coral Bells, also called Alum Root (Heuchera). They come in so many colors – copper, dark green, dark purple, golden caramel, lemon-lime, orange-red, peach, silver and black, spicy red, etc. You can choose plants with leaves that are patterned/multi-colored, ruffled, smooth or wavy. Hummingbirds love the little flowers on the long stems and rabbits leave them alone.
They are one of the easiest perennials to grow and will thrive in a wide range of light conditions (from full shade to full sun), temperature (hot to cold) and wetness (plentiful rainfall to drought).
Shortly after we moved in 30 years ago, I planted several dark green Coral Bells with dark purple underside of the ruffled leaves. That was long before I started labeling plants and who knew we would be here this long for it to matter?
I wish I could tell you what cultivar they are. With much neglect and the horrors of being planted so close to the street, they have thrived in spite of being sprayed with salt and clobbered with wet snow, compliments of the city road trucks.
The thing that makes them so versatile in the garden is that they can easily provide a pop of color where you might otherwise plant annuals every year. They can provide a bright golden caramel or minty green or orange or red spot of interest in the most undemanding way. Go to the nursery and you will see what I mean.
In spite of the recommendation in most gardening catalogs (Remember that plants can’t read!) plant them wherever you need some added texture or color. They will only grow about a foot tall and if you wait until September to plant them and are a responsible new plant mentor (keep soil evenly moist), you will be rewarded for years. The only maintenance is to remove tattered bottom leaves in the spring—once and done!
I love Coral Bells and you will, too!
