All are smaller or dead

[Aud]

Am I the only one that cannot keep these plants alive? They either do not come back the following summer or they come back and get smaller all summer. I have brought more that 20 different ones and the only one that survive and grown is Palace Purple and Green Spice.

If you live in zone 6 or lower and have luck with a particular Herc please post the name and if you are not having any problem keeping them alive please tell me your secret. Are you planting in sun, dry area, wet area etc,

Thank you.

[Gardentoad]

I'm just like you and cannot keep them. The only variety that has done well for me it Palace Purple and that is only in one spot, right next to the house on the north side. Hostas do well in every place I have tried planting heucheras. I still have a couple that pop up a couple leaves but I have bought so many that have died away that I won't try them any more.

[Chris_W]

Hi,

Heucheras are generally cold hardy, but they need sunlight and good drainage to perform best. They hate wet feet, hate clay soil, and they aren't really a hostas companion because generally they are a sun plant, but like a little protection from the heat of the day

I also think they may be somewhat pH dependent, seeming to prefer neutral to acidic soil, though I might be noticing that just because our alkaline soil is also fairly compact and holds a lot of moisture.

If you have a spot with sandy soil, where it rarely ever gets watered nor stays wet, some good bright morning sunlight, you might want to try them there. We finally moved all of ours to a part sunny spot with a sandy soil base where we don't irrigate, and most are doing a whole lot better. But like you, some just never grow, no matter what we do.

Ones that have grown fine over the years here: Rave On, Sashay, Green Spice, Peppermint Spice, Frosted Violet, Prince, Mercury, Obsidian, Brownies, Florist Choice, Hollywood, Ring of Fire, Stormy Seas, and of course, Palace Purple.

I've killed more plants than I care to list...

[Aud]

Thanks GT I guess these are a waste of money.

Chris I think you may have solved my mystery. Because I was moving I put 3 in a terracottta pot that I had some sedum in and they survived 2 winters as soon as I put them in the ground this summer they have almost disappeared.

I do not know where I will put the ones that are left maybe I will just let them meet their maker. I will not buy any more that is for sure.

[GrannyNanny]

The solution is to grow your own from seed, which is ridiculously easy. I grow about 50 every year, and put them in every empty spot in my shade (and sun) gardens, to crowd out the weeds. I get purple ones with silvery spots, green with the same, and all sorts of other colors, and since I select seeds from those heucheras that have larger flowers, I usually get those, too. I haven't bought a heuchera in a number of years, because I, too, lost most of them to either winter cold or frost heaving or summer heat or something. Now I just have lots of free heucheras, and have some left over to sell at the garden club plant sale. Phyllis

[viktoria]

Those who have trouble growing Heucheras, especially in zone 5 and colder, should try the H. villosa hybrids. 'Frosted Violet' and 'Brownies' have been mentioned; others include 'Caramel', 'Mocha', 'Christa', 'Tiramisu', 'Pistache', 'Citronelle', 'Encore', 'Tara', 'Beaujolais', 'Pinot Gris' and more. If the last two don't work for you, invest in the wines instead and they will help you deal with your loss.

[LucyGoose]

The solution is to grow your own from seed, which is ridiculously easy. I grow about 50 every year, and put them in every empty spot in my shade (and sun) gardens, to crowd out the weeds. I get purple ones with silvery spots, green with the same, and all sorts of other colors, and since I select seeds from those heucheras that have larger flowers, I usually get those, too. I haven't bought a heuchera in a number of years, because I, too, lost most of them to either winter cold or frost heaving or summer heat or something. Now I just have lots of free heucheras, and have some left over to sell at the garden club plant sale. Phyllis

Ditto what Phyllis said!! It is fun and you all kinds!!

[GrannyNanny]

As of this writing, I have six flats of seedling heucheras, each in a three inch pot, down under my lights in the basement. Some are dark, dark shiny purple; some have a purple matte finish with silvery tracing, some are the same but in green, and some are green with purply backs, and are somewhat ruffled. I will be putting them into every available bare spot in my garden, come spring. When I get them all sorted out as to type, I'll take some pics and post them here. Phyllis

[Patrushka]

Looking forward to seeing pics of your new seedlings Phyllis.

My biggest and best growing heucheras are seedlings grown from Phyllis' seeds. It's amazing how hardy they are.

[rosemarie]

I think I have inadvertently(sp) discovered part of a solution to growing Heucs. The last couple of years I just didn't have time to get out in my garden, so I got some fiberglass pots(fairly large) amd put some Heucs on our back deck which faces south. , so they get morning sun and afternoon shade. They seem to be doing well, except for Ginger Ale, which has never gotten very big. They are beginning to revitalize a little now( I hope.) They are my favorite next to Hosta( again with the "s"). The new ones this year are so pretty I can't resist them. Now can any one give me a good heads up on feeding them? I use alot of Rabbit pellets for my yard, will that do? Another trick I got from some one is to use Epsom Salts for bloom on other plants. I may try the pots up in my trees, too.

[Aud]

Rosemarie, you may be on to something. Since I was moving I put three in a terra-cotta pot and they stayed on that pot for two winters. They grew and survived. I moved put them in the ground and they started to go downhill all summer. I think they need a lot of drainage.

[GrannyNanny]

In colder climates (Minnesota, zone 4 here) potting them won't do -- they will freeze over the winter, just as potted hostas will if left outside. Heucheras do just fine in the ground all winter, except that they tend to frost-heave in the spring, so I have to go around and dig them down into the soil again. (Not all of them -- just some.) It's a small price to pay for heucheras that grow year after year. The only ones I've killed are Snow Angel, and one called Monet-something (can't remember what). Those have green and white leaves, and are small to begin with. I finally gave up on them.
I have just repotted most of my basement crop into deeper 3" pots, so photos will be available soon. Phyllis

[kaylyred]

What a great thread about heuchs! I'm picking up some valuable information here.

Here in zone 5 my heuchs do fairly well. Chris mentioned sandy, well drained soil, so I'm going to guess that my sandy loam is probably the reason my heucheras seem to like it here. The ones in raised beds and near sidewalks that retain heat seem to do better than the ones that are out in a more open area. The raised bed ones stayed evergreen for me this year, but the ones in lower lying open areas frost heaved a bit and also needed most of their dead leaves cut back. They look to be rebounding just fine, though.

I do grow mine in bright shade, and some of them never get any direct sunlight (just dappled), but they seem to have handled it fairly well. I don't expect they'll ever get overly large, but in the space I have them confined to, I don't particularly want them to, anyhow.

[Chris_W]

This past winter I kept over 100 heucheras in pots. Most were 1 gallon sized, with very well drained, coarse soil. I just tipped them over on their sides and then put some rodent bait between the pots. All have survived and look better than most of the plants in the ground!

I also kept two in big flower pots, expecting them to die, but they are back larger than the same ones in the ground (Heuchera Brownies).

At our old place the plants in raised beds also did much better too

Seems like the dry and well-drained conditions in the pots helped over the winter for me. I'm now excited to try more of these

Chris

[Aud]

I had 15 left at the end of 09 and they all survived and are growing good now.

I repositioned them according to suggestions of dry and morining sun area. Thanks Chris. I am trying some of my hostas in the same area I will see how it works.

Phyllis, I am the world's worst seed grower. The only way it can be rediculously easy for me is spreading the seeds in the garden and they grow.

[gamekeeper]

My few have done very well and are really getting big they have morning sun in well drained soil .

[JustOneMore]

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum, joined minutes ago!

I live in an area that borders zones 4 and 5, North Central Indiana. I usually don't buy plants that aren't hardy in 4. I have very sandy soil, I can go out in my front yard and dig a hole with my hands. Very handy for easy planting, very labor intensive during droughts!

I have had a couple heucheras for 4 years, picked up a new one here and there, and until yesterday I had 14 different ones. Then I made the mistake of making the rounds of my local nurseries, and found one that had 10 hybrids I don't have. Of course I went back and got them today, but it so humid, I will plant them next week, when it will be cooler.

Re this discussion: I have always been told that the secret to long heuchera life is good drainage, (sand!), and keep them moist. I have noticed that is what is on all the plant labels. When we don't get rain and the temp is hot and humid in July and August, I water every other day if it doesn't rain.

I also have almost all of them planted where they get direct sun about half the day, and they are all close to a foundation wall that has a heated basement on the other side, which I suppose is good for winter. It can get -20 deegrees in winter here.

So far I haven't had a problem with heaving.

I am enjoying this forum a lot, picking up lots of info.

[Chris_W]

Welcome to the forums "justonemore".

Glad to hear that you are doing so well with them. For years Heuchera were touted as great shade plants in different reference books and magazines, back in the days when there were only a few different cultivars like Palace Purple and some of the green ones related to Heuchera americana. But then the hybrids started showing up and we basically needed to rewrite the playbooks on this one. I'm glad more and more people are catching on to their needs.

Last year I decided to grow all of mine in containers. I've lost way too many plants here in the ground - they get plenty of moisture but STAY wet too much, especially in winter and early spring. All of my Heuchera in pots have excellent drainage and I didn't lose any over the winter and we didn't even cover them, just tipped them on their sides and left them outdoors. A few were eaten by rodents, but that's the only problem I had. We are now starting a lot more cool hybrids and just growing them in containers.

Nice to have you aboard!

Chris

[R. Rock]

Hi,
I have good luck w/ most here.
I would not purchase Tiramisu, Pistache, or Citronelle!!! Out of a few dozen of each there isn't any left or very few. The yellow's are very sensitive to light. They need enough for vigor, but too much and they turn brown from sunburn. It is near impossible to win w/ the yellow's.

[impatience]

The happiest heuchera I have is a Peach Melba that I bought in a 4" pot. I couldn't decide where to place it so I sat it near the end of a raised bed and promptly forgot about it. Now 3 years later it is lush, beautiful and very happy-and still in the 4" pot. I'm thinking that the better the drainage the more success.

Also, I had one of my seedlings in a short wide pot for a few years. I needed the pot for something else so I rolled the heuchera out onto the lawn. There it stayed for over a year before I planted it. It looked much happier just sitting in a ball on the lawn than it has since I planted it-go figure.

imp