Expert-Tested New Heucheras That Are Better Than the Classics

If you’ve been burned by the latest varieties of this popular perennial in the past, never fear! These expert-tested options won’t let you down.

Who remembers when ‘ Palace Purple ’ was one of the hottestperennialsin the market ? It was theheucheraI set in my unexampled garden 30 days ago . I like its color and valued its landscape service program but quickly pushed it apart when a real purple - leave behind cultivar come along . After a few age of growing the new one , I gain that although ‘ Palace Purple ’ ( Heuchera villosa‘Palace Purple ’ ) might not have the good leaf coloring liken to some of the new cultivar , it was reliable . For as long as I can think back , their undependableness has made heucheras the punching bag of perennials . I ’ve taken a swing or two myself .

Our trial at the Chicago Botanic Gardenin the mid-1990s was a chemical reaction to the tight - paced initiation of new cultivars . That trial yielded some expert results , which I wo n’t rehash here since it was over 20 age ago . rather , I require to highlight heucheras that we ’ve evaluated in the preceding five class , along with a few exceptional , not - as - new cultivar I can not resist still talking about . Within this trial group I was interested only in selections with breeding tie in toH. richardsoniiandH. villosabecause of their vigor and hardiness , but that ’s not to say their ornamental variations were n’t important too .

Achieve the greatest heuchera success:

Tips and Tricks for Growing Heucheras Successfully

At a Glance

Name : Heucheraspp . and cvs .

Zones:3–9

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; moist , well - drain , fat ground

Native range : North America

Care and propagation : Prune unsightly foliage as needed ; replant any Robert Lee Frost - heaved plants , and divide in outflow

Pests and diseases : Rust , fungal and bacterial leaf spotting , nematode , slugs , and potential rabbit and deer browsing ( but rarified )

Pollinator - well-disposed : Bees , butterflies , hummingbirds

Foliage variation and adaptability set them apart

Heucheras come in tantalizing foliage colors — paprika , cinnamon , amber , salmon pink , grapeshot , plum tree , and chartreuse ; some display a mix of coloration at once or are plainly green . leafage and vein are often blush , etched , or overlaid with red , burgundy , or ash gray . folio size , Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , and texture are variable , and leaves may be flattened , cup , crinkled , or fluff . But do n’t forget the flowers — they offer color and movement and often complement the leafage nicely . Most flowered colour comes from the calyx ; the petals are unremarkably unimportant or lacking . Airy clusters of tiny flowers are hold on wiry stems above the foliage , attracting bees and butterflies in late spring and summer .

Heucheras in our previous trial have been grown in light shade , partial Lord’s Day , and full Lord’s Day ; surprisingly , many plants excelled in sunny sites . The dark the leaf colouring , the intimately they front . Yellow and peachy foliage burned up or off - colored horribly . Our former trial — started in May 2022 — is in a raw evaluation garden that provides the heucheras with only limited tone for part of the daytime . Most plants have adapted well to the sunnier conditions , but the yellow - or salmon pink - colored heucheras were stressed in the heating system of the time of year .

Trial Parameters

The Chicago Botanic Garden has trialed 198 heucheras since 1995 . Besides observing their ornamental traits , we monitored the flora to see how well they grew and conform to environmental and dirt condition . We also kept a close heart on any disease or gadfly job , and we assessed plant injury and losses over winter .

How long : Minimum 4 years

Zone:6a

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; alkaline , clay - loam soil or sandy loam filth

Care : We provided minimum care , allowing the plants to prosper or flunk under natural conditions .

Top Performers Offer a Cornucopia of Colors

I ’d like to say that no heucheras were harmed in the composition of this storey , but we ’ve kill a lot of plants to get here ! Someday I ’ll do the math to cypher out how many year each of the intimately 200 heucheras thrived during its trial period . My gut notion is that it is not a with child turn . That said , I keep an open mind when a genus Heuchera enters the trials and am always bright for achiever , even for the cracking ones . The following pick complete the full four - year trial and actually thrived throughout our evaluations .

‘Silver Gumdrop’

‘ Silver Gumdrop ’ ( H.‘Silver Gumdrop ’ ) made my recommendation list early — two years before it finished its test in 2021 — because of its dish and strong habit . leave are purple betimes on and then bit by bit release silver with empurpled undertones and dark venation . A blush of purple sticks around on the newest leave but blow over by when the stunning pinkish - violet flowers open in late leap . ‘ Silver Gumdrop ’ is a fecund bloomer , so deadheading makes for a sizable plant and maximise the foliar display afterwards in the season . Leaves wealthy purpleness again in decline and hold their color through wintertime , although dried foliage may obscure the show . ‘ Silver Gumdrop ’ was plant in an inhospitable site — dry , barmy , clay dirt and full - sun exposure — and still it excelled . In the hottest , driest times , however , some scorching spoil the bright leaf . A little good afternoon shade is best .

‘Carnival Cocomint’

Given the marvellous colors available , green - will heucheras often get overlooked . To be bonny , describing ‘ Carnival Cocomint ’ ( H.‘Carnival Cocomint ’ ) as green water down the distinctive colouration stage . Young leave-taking are green with a central blotch of burgundy spreading out from the veins . Color withdraw to the vein only as a silver sheathing develops , accentuating a ribbon of green along the allowance and finally turning silvern light greens . Tiny red-hot - pink petals nestle in yellow - unripened calyces in tardy fountain . ‘ Carnival Cocomint ’ is a prolific bloomer , with scores of tall flower stems rising 20 inch above robust leafy mound . Plants in the Carnival series haveH. villosaparentage , which leave them good tolerance to heating system and humidity .

‘Color Dream’

Having been measure from 2005 to 2011 , ‘ Color Dream ’ ( H.‘Color Dream ’ ) is the old cultivar in the commixture — but it still ranks among the best from any of our trials , and for age it was the only new genus Heuchera I recommended . The silver leaf are etched with purple veins early and age to silvery green with dusky unripened veins ; new foliage are flushed with purpleness for a short time , and the undersides are regal . Small , greenish - white flower petal peek out from over-embellished calyx that match the bloom scapes and wager off the other imperial accents . ‘ Color Dream ’ was a strong bloomer but rent a few years to push up significant bloom . The compact riding habit near doubles in height with the blossom husk in summertime . Aside from being attractive , plants were sizeable and grew vigorously in big dirt and noontide sunshine . It was gratifying to see that ‘ Color Dream ’ was also one of the top - performing ash grey - leaved cultivars in Mt. Cuba Center ’s 2012–2014 test .

‘Carnival Watermelon’

Predicting my favorite cultivar should have been easy ; I screw coloured purple – leaved heucheras , and there are a few great one in the current trial . But from the starting , ‘ Carnival Watermelon ’ ( H.‘Carnival Watermelon ’ ) captured my imagination . Its large folio are a adorable mingling of orange - red , pinkish , and peach chromaticity with magenta bottom . As spring turns to summertime , leaves lighten up to green overlaid with ash grey and flush with soft hints of the earlier colors . The dramatic coloration show is made more so by the bold plant size of it . The tall bronze blossom stems reverberate the colorful leaf and contain open cluster of creamy white and pink flowers .

‘Cherry Cola’

The fate of cultivars in hyper - bred genera such asHeucherais on my mind a lot . How many new debut is too many at one clock time , and how many cultivar can survive the evolving grocery to have a lasting impact ? ‘ Cherry Cola ’ ( H.‘Cherry Cola ’ ) was one of my favorites from 2011 to 2014 , which have in mind it may be harder to find now . I loved its graphic vermilion leaves so much that I made a place for it in my garden . It was a brilliant companion to ‘ Aureola ’ Nipponese forest supergrass ( Hakonechloamacra‘Aureola ’ , Zones 5–9 ) for a few years before the sprawling stems of a nonclimbing clematis ( Clematis‘Mrs . Robert Brydon ’ , Zones 4–9 ) smother it . I tried to play the magic with several less - satisfying look - a - likes — but that turned out to be like grab Mr. Pibb because Dr. Pepper is sell out , so I eventually ordered it . We grew ‘ Cherry Cola ’ in full sun , and its dark red leaves turned a flaming brilliant flushed - Orange River by midsummer . It was endearing in any hue , and doubly so because the leaves , floral stems , and flowers are all the same beautiful color .

‘Wildberry’

My notes repeatedly described ‘ Wildberry ’ ( H.‘Wildberry ’ ) as luminous , which is a in question description for a plant with thick purple leaves — except that it is true ; the scrunch up control surface of the shining leaves reflects light like the facets of a gemstone . The colour was firm in spring and downfall , but the people of colour hold up even in hot weather ; a silvery dark in high summertime mute the intensity of the purple a morsel . Rose - pinkish flower top dark stems nearly a groundwork above the plant and complement the foliage nicely . ‘ Wildberry ’ is my go - to now when recommending a reliable , beautiful , dark - leaved heuchera . We are keen to see how ‘ Frosted Berry ’ ( H.‘Frosted Berry ’ ) , a silver - leaved sport of ‘ Wildberry ’ , measures up .

The Newest Selections Rival the Standards

Even though some heucheras in our test have been under rating for only two growing seasons , a few cultivar are already standing out from the bunch . Keep your eyes peeled for the following choice , which are wowing us with their performance .

1. ‘Ball Gown’

The vibrant cheery jaundiced and chartreuse foliage of ‘ Ball Gown ’ ( H.‘Ball Gown ’ ) is off the charts . In our garden , it is the gross complement to common genus Ajuga ( Ajugagenevensis , Zones 3–9 ) , which is covered in dark majestic - blue blossom in May when ‘ Ball Gown ’ is glow . Green is the rife colouring in summertime , but the new leaf are always bright white-livered . The creamy yellow flower sense like an second thought ; they disappear against the brighter leave-taking and so far have not been plentiful . The robust habit of ‘ Ball Gown ’ is amplified by its large , ruffled leaves . protective covering from strong sun is best to reduce folio singe , which can turn ugly fast .

2. ‘Toffee Tart’

It is easy to permit preferences sway objectivity ; foliage people of colour is where I had to control myself in this trial run . Appreciating the earthly concern tones was not as raw to me as loving the deep purples and sultry reds , so it take a act more time to see the real beauty of ‘ Toffee Tart ’ ( H.‘Toffee Tart ’ ) . But I got there ! The yellowish brown - colour leaves of spring turn ginger and gold in summer . While they were touted as having a silvery overlayer , I did not see it . As leaves twist in the malarky , light purple undersurface are give away and complement each of the color stages . Half of our plants were shaded from the afternoon sun , while others took the brunt of its passion and light , and it show . These softer vividness benefit from shade or protective cover from the westerly sun .

3. Northern Exposure™ Black

There is a lot to be tell for the Northern Exposure ™ assembling — strong habits , declamatory leave , big leaf colors , and cold - hardiness . The ancestry of these plants let in the northern metal money , H. richardsonii — native to a large belt of the midwestern United States and much of Canada , including the Northwest Territories . Northern Exposure ™ Black , Lime , and Purple are in the trials , but there are also silver , scarlet , and gold selection . Northern Exposure ™ Black ( H.‘TNHEUEB ’ ) feature glistening , black - Burgundy wine leaves and pinkish flower on marvellous stems . It is in truth a beautiful plant , and it has been a inviolable performing artist as well . In its second summertime the leafy mounds were decent in size of it , but the turgid ruffled leaf ( 5 inches wide ) made the plants appear to be much vainglorious .

4. ‘Black Forest Cake’

‘ Black Forest Cake ’ ( H.‘Black Forest Cake ’ ) make me swoon . The calendered , dark purple leaves look almost black and are reminiscent of ‘ Obsidian ’ ( H.‘Obsidian ’ ) , a longtime favourite of mine . But unlike ‘ Obsidian ’ , it has mythic bright cherry - red flowers that , at 3/8 column inch wide , are solid by heuchera measure . These two intense colors take on together are almost shocking — in a good manner — and are not an impersonation of another heuchera . The plants so far are somewhat bigger than wait . I can picture ‘ Black Forest Cake ’ in at least three spots in my tiny garden ; I ’m not sure I have the effectiveness to resist .

5. ‘Carnival Cinnamon Stick’

On a hot day last July , the brick - loss to bull - orange tree leaves of ‘ Carnival Cinnamon Stick ’ ( H.‘Carnival Cinnamon Stick ’ ) blew me away . The loudness of the colour was a surprisal given the soft bull flavour earlier in springtime . From spring to fall , the ever - changing color show is a pleasing mixture of violent , orange , pig , and rusty Brown University . The rosy bloom , on bright red stems to 18 inches tall , are not yet ample on our plants but are a nice touch . ‘ Carnival Cinnamon Stick ’ makes a minor mound compared to the full-bodied cultivar in this series . I ’m allowed to have more than one favorite , ripe ?

6. ‘Big Top Caramel Apple’

My penchant for buff - colour heucheras is growing thanks to ‘ Big Top Caramel Apple ’ ( H.‘Big Top Caramel Apple ’ ) . newfangled leaves emerge gentle reddened - burgundy , then fade to a pinkish chromaticity and finally to light caramel . Older leaves are green or chartreuse ; too much sun in our garden probably played a part in that . And the leaves are huge — up to 6 inch across — amping up the color and texture . fall brings a revival meeting of the outpouring tone of voice with red - burgundy and caramel accenting yellow green and weak green . By coincidence , ‘ Big Top Caramel Apple ’ is planted next to ‘ Carnival Burgundy Blast ’ ( H.‘Carnival Burgundy Blast ’ ) , and the color combination in spring is bright .

Chicago Botanic Garden Heuchera Trial Results

Click here to view the trial ensue chart as a PDF

Richard Hawke is an expert plantsman and the film director of decorative plant research at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe , Illinois .

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Photos, clockwise from top left: ‘Carnival Cocomint’ (Visions Premium/gapphotos.com); ‘Carnival Watermelon’, (Nova Photo Graphik/gapphotos.com); ‘Ball Gown’ (courtesy of Richard Hawke); and ‘Silver Gumdrop’ (courtesy of Richard Hawke)

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