Heuchera is dark. Heuchera - a welcome guest from North America: planting and care. Preparing heuchera for winter

The large and diverse Heuchera family has a huge number of varieties. Today, about 70 of them are known. Popular varieties that are used in decoration personal plots, do not require special growing conditions and even novice gardeners can care for them. Their photos are widely distributed and it will not be difficult to choose a flower to suit your taste.

Heuchera varieties

• The Palace Purple variety is considered one of the most spectacular heucheras. Her homeland is the Atlantic coast North America. The bush reaches 50 cm in height. Large glossy leaves of burgundy and brown shades are covered with silver spots. White and cream flowers appear in June-August, and the leaves decorate gardens from early spring until hard frost.
• Heuchera Hybrida has curly leaves of white and green flowers with plum veins and white speckles. The reverse side of the leaf is red-purple. In June-July it blooms with white and pale green, pink and coral flowers. Plant height - 25-30 cm.
• Heuchera Caramel rarely blooms, but is famous for its unique honey-yellow leaves. The height of the bush is about 30 cm. The variety came to us from the southeastern lands of North America, and therefore feels great in the summer heat and in a humid climate.
• Variety Purple Castle has dark leaves purple and long white hairs on the shoots. The flowers resemble the shape of a bell. Naturally found from British Columbia to the southern coast of California.
• Heuchera Cappuccino leaves are bronze in color on top and purple on the bottom. The brush-shaped flower blooms in early summer. Red inflorescences are topped with white petals.
• Heuchera Regina has silver-gray leaves that shimmer with a bluish-lavender tint. The leaf is dotted with dark veins. Pink flowers bloom in May-June.
• The leaves of Heuchera Marmalade are yellow-orange in color. The underside of the leaf is light purple. The flowers are small and greenish. Blooms in the first half of summer.

Soil and lighting requirements

Despite the fact that heuchera is considered an unpretentious flower, there are certain requirements for choosing a place for planting. The brightness of the color of the leaves and the duration of flowering will depend on how illuminated the area for placing the plant is. The characteristics of the variety and planting recommendations should be taken into account.

The Purple Castle variety prefers partial shade, but does not mind being lit and sun rays in the morning hours. Heuchera Caramel will grow best in the shade.

As for the composition and quality of the soil, well-drained areas are allocated for the plant. In places where water stagnates, the roots of the plant will rot, which will lead to the inevitable death of the heuchera. The plant is unpretentious, but will feel better in light, nutritious neutral or acidic soils.

Accommodation in the garden

The optimal place for growing heuchera is to place it in the sliding lacy shade of tree crowns. It will serve as an excellent ground cover crop in place of a lawn, and will also provide an annual cover of fallen leaves.

This is a perennial that retains its shape for a long time, so it would be a good solution to use it as a border for flower beds or decoration garden paths. Looks good in an ensemble with astilbe, geranium, brunera, bergenia, daylilies, primroses, decorative cereals. Heuchera is combined with dwarf shrubs and roses. In landscape design, plants are used in the design of rockeries and rock gardens.

Planting and growing heuchera

Heuchera is propagated by two methods: seeds and vegetative way. Species varieties grown from seeds. This method is more complex, but the zealous gardener will be provided with high-quality planting material in the future. Propagated by dividing the bush hybrid varieties Heuchera.

Growing from seeds

The shelf life of the seeds is six months after collection. If they are packaged in foil, germination lasts up to 1.5 years.

Planting is carried out 25 weeks before the expected time of flowering of heuchera. Best time for this - March. A wide container 5 cm high is suitable for sowing. There must be drainage holes. The soil for growing seedlings must first be disinfected. To do this, the earth is calcined in the oven or microwave oven at least 5 minutes.

For successful seed germination, the following conditions must be met:

• the soil for sowing must be loose, to achieve this, sand is added;
• the seeds are poured onto the moist soil from above. There is no need to bury them, but they should be lightly pressed to the ground so that during watering they are not washed away by water;
• The container with the seeds is left in a well-lit place and covered with glass or film, which is removed from time to time. Crops need ventilation, but make sure they are protected from drafts.

Shoots will emerge in 2-3 weeks. There is no need to remove the shelter after this, but continue to ventilate. The soil must be sufficiently moist. When the first 2-3 leaves appear, the seedlings dive at a distance of 5 cm from each other.

Seedlings need to be hardened off. When the danger of frost has passed, approximately in mid-May, they can be taken out into the garden and dug into the ground in an area in partial shade. Young plantings especially need watering in the first year.

For this purpose, they dig up a bush and divide it into several parts. Planting material needs to be prepared for rooting:

• dried shoots of the plant are cut off;
• release brood buds from old leaves;
• the bare stem is shortened to young tissue;
• Areas with signs of decay are cut off on the roots, and crushed coal is applied to the cut.

A planting hole is prepared with dimensions of 30x30 cm. Immediately before planting, mineral or compost fertilizers and ash. After planting, the heuchera is watered and shaded from the sun. After 6-7 weeks the plant will sprout new roots. Then it can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Yulia Petrichenko, expert

Heuchera care

Feeding and watering

Caring for heuchera involves watering and fertilizing. Heuchera does not need abundant watering. Excess moisture has a negative effect on the plant. The soil should be well drained and moderately moist. You should be careful with the plant during cold, dry periods and hot summer days, especially before flowering.

Watering mode - preferably morning or evening. Make sure that drops do not fall on the leaves; pour water only under the bush. To avoid rapid evaporation of moisture, the soil at the roots is mulched annually in the fall with rotted leaves or peat.

On fertile soils, the flower does not need special fertilizers. Twice a year - before and after flowering - to stimulate growth, you can apply a small dose of mineral fertilizer with a low nitrogen content. Its excess will provoke the formation of renewal buds.

Preparing for winter

Heuchera is a frost-resistant plant and remains to winter in open ground. However, despite good tolerability negative temperatures, the plant should still be prepared for winter. There is no need to trim the flower. The roots are buried and the soil is covered with insulating material. The base of the rosette is mulched with sawdust. Young plants are additionally covered with agrofibre.

Heuchera transplant

Growing heuchera has one drawback - stretching the stems. This occurs when the upper parts of the shoots rise above the soil with rosettes of leaves. The lower leaves die off and the upper ones become smaller. Such plants need to be pruned every two to three years and replanted.

Transplantation is carried out before flowering in spring or immediately after:

• peduncles are removed, the bare above-ground parts of the stems are cut off;
• the cuttings are sprinkled with ash;
• the cuttings treated with stimulants to form roots are planted in greenhouses or mini-cuttings.

Sand is suitable as a substrate. The position of the plant should be such that the center of the rosette is above the soil surface. As young plants develop and the degree of their rooting, a decision is made to plant in open ground. Autumn planting It is better not to carry it out, but to postpone it until spring.

Heuchera diseases

The culture is quite resistant to diseases and does not cause much trouble. The gardener himself can harm the flower if he does not take care of the drainage of stagnant water, or if he overfeeds the plant with organic matter. These factors most often cause root rot. The first signal about this will be the wilting of the heuchera. In this case, the plant is dug up, rotten leaves and damaged areas of roots are removed and planted in a pot.

Heuchera leaves can be damaged by snails and slugs. Uninvited guests are collected by hand, but they can also be stopped by grooves with lime, tobacco dust or ash. Leaves may be affected by spotting and downy powdery mildew. Diseased leaves are removed, they must be burned, and the plant must be treated with fungicides.

There is nothing difficult about planting and caring for heuchera. As you can see, it is only important to choose a suitable area, not to be too zealous with watering and to replant the plant on time.

And if heuchera has already settled in your garden, we will be very interested to know what varieties you are breeding, in what region? What are their features and processing methods? planting material? Share your experience in the comments!

Used for decorative landscaping.

The variety of shades of its foliage attracts many gardeners.

In this article you will learn about popular types of heuchera that you can plant in your garden.

Description of the genus

Heuchera heads the genus of herbaceous perennials of the Saxifraga family. Grows in western North America. Another name for the plant is heuhera. Heuchera received its name in honor of its discoverer, Johann Heinrich von Heucher, a German botanist. The height of the plant, depending on the type, ranges from 40 to 60 cm. The peculiarity of heuchera is change in foliage color during the growing season.

Used to decorate flower beds, central paths and rock gardens.

Blood red

Heuchera blood red is a perennial herbaceous plant, and its varieties are most often used in group plantings.

The leaves reach 5.3 cm in diameter and have a kidney-shaped, rounded shape. Peduncles reach 40 cm in height. The bells are dark pink or red. Reach 1.2 cm in length. Heuchera blooms for 60 days (from June to August).

Important! Heuchera fruits cannot be eaten or used as a medicine.

• "Alba"- plant with white flowers;
• "Snowstorm"- has bright red flowers and beautiful variegated leaves;
• "Splendens"- a variety with small carmine-red flowers.

Hybrid

Heuchera hybrids are divided into two groups - shaker-shaped (obtained by crossing American and blood-red) and American (as a result of crossing American, small-flowered and hairy heuchera). Shaker-shaped heucheras have voluminous leaves, and the plant has large bells. Color varies from white to red. Flowering can last up to two months. Representatives of this group have one drawback - with strong gusts of wind, the rather delicate stems of the plant can lie down and break.

Some varieties of shaking heuchera:

• "Rakete"- flowers of fiery red color;
• "Coral Cloud"- a variety with loose inflorescences of a bright coral shade;
• "Scintillation" - interesting variety having bright pink flowers with brown specks;
• "Snow Flakes"- a variety with rather large snow-white flowers.

The American group of hybrids have voluminous leaves of dark purple, dark purple or brown colors. The flowers will have the same color as those of Heuchera parviflora.

Representatives of American hybrids: "Chocolate Ruffles", "Rachel", "Ring of Fire", "Stormy Seas" and etc.

Did you know? At one time, heuchera was used as a medicine for diarrhea.

Cylindrical

Heuchera cylindrical is a perennial. In the wild it grows in high mountains on the US coast.

Three cultivars were developed based on Heuchera cylindrical: "Green Ivory", "Greenfinch" And "Hyperion".

American

Heuchera americana grows on the rocky shores of North America near the Great Lakes. In its homeland, the plant is called mountain geranium. The perennial has attractive round-heart-shaped leaves on long petioles, with bottom side having a brownish-purple color. Interesting feature This species is that with the onset of cold weather the leaves acquire a very beautiful dark red edge.

Peduncles reach 55 cm in height, the flowers are yellowish. Flowering lasts 2 months starting in June.

Gooseberry leaf

This species is most often planted by gardeners, as it has high winter hardiness and does not lose its leaves even in the most severe frosts. The perennial has three to five lobed medium-sized leaves (up to 8 cm in diameter). The peduncles are large and reach 65 cm in height. The flowers are white and large (5 mm in diameter). The plant has high frost resistance, which allows this species to be planted in cold regions.

Hairy

Heuchera pilosa has velvety green leaves, which reach 15 cm in diameter. Bells are beige-green. The perennial grows up to 45 cm in height and is used in group plantings and border decoration.

Important! The flowers of the plant are poisonous and unsuitable for consumption. Causes vomiting, diarrhea and cramps.

Small-flowered

This small plant surprises not only with its airy and delicate flowers, but also incredibly beautiful leaves - of various shapes and colors. In a garden of any style: English landscape, luxurious Moorish or strict regular - such a decorative deciduous perennial as heuchera looks great. Planting and caring for this plant is quite simple and even a novice gardener can do it, but there are some nuances and rules that should be followed and taken into account when growing heuchera.

Botanical characteristics

This perennial, belonging to the saxifrage family, was named in honor of the German doctor and naturalist Geicher I.G. In total, there are about 70 natural species of this plant, most of which grow in various areas of North America. Heuchera is quite short, about 30-50 cm, herbaceous perennial, dense and variously colored long-petioled leaves of which are collected in a basal rosette. This plant blooms in middle lane can be observed in mid-summer. If the place was chosen correctly and all the conditions were created, then in June-July each bush throws out flower stalks reaching a meter in length and decorated small flowers, collected in paniculate inflorescences. They come in red, pink, white, depending on the type and variety to which the heuchera belongs. Planting and care, the photo below shows how impressive it looks flowering bush Heuchera villosa cultivar Autumn Bride.

After flowering, a fruit-box is formed, inside which there are many very small seeds. The plant is quite frost-resistant and shade-tolerant.

Historical reference

At the very beginning of the 17th century, the botanist Carl Clusius described a plant - mountain undergrowth - brought from North America. It was then that the heuchera flower was mentioned for the first time in scientific literature. Planting and caring for this plant were not described there, but it is known that by the middle of the same century it was cultivated in French gardens. John Tradescant Jr. was the first known gardener to grow heucheras, and the year they were introduced into cultivation is considered to be 1656.

IN early XIX century, other representatives of the genus Heuchera were described, including the Heuchera sanguinea found in Mexico - blood red heuchera. The planting and care of which did not differ from the already known species.

At the beginning of the last century, heucheras were quite rare in gardens, and for the most part they were species plants and their natural forms. The situation changed after the famous French breeders of that time, father and son Lemoine, began hybridizing this perennial. The first hybrid form obtained from crossing small-flowered and blood-red was the shaking heuchera. Planting and care (a photo of a modern plant of this type of Pluie de Feu variety is presented below) is exactly the same as that of its “ancestors”.

Subsequently, breeding work was carried out both in France by the Lemoine family and in Great Britain by A. Blum. The latter received more than a dozen complex hybrid forms from crossing hairy, small-flowered, American and cylindrical.

Kinds

In modern gardening, it is not the natural species themselves that are most often found, but various hybrids and varieties of heuchera:

Popular varieties

It is unlikely that anyone will be able to say exactly how many heuchera varieties exist today. Almost every year, breeders delight fans with more and more new interesting plants. The approximate number of modern varieties is about 200. It will not be possible to tell about everything, but we will try to highlight interesting and popular ones.

• Low, only 25 cm, heuchera variety Amethyst Mist Coral Bells stands out for its glossy foliage of a rich purple color, covered as if with an icy pattern of thin silver veins.
• The leaves of the beautiful Regina variety, which is about 30 cm high, are colored lavender with an ash-silver tint. On high - 50-60 cm - peduncles, pink inflorescences bloom in June.
• Heuchera Autumn Leaves is practically a chameleon variety, as it changes the color of its leaves three times during the season. In the spring they are “fire” - bright red, in the summer they are gray-green, and in the fall they turn crimson. The preferred planting location is partial shade.
• The Beauty Color variety is distinguished by two-color leaves, a green border along the edges and bright veins.
• Creamy yellow leaves streaked with reddish Brown, will surprise the Heuchera variety Electra. The intensity of the yellow color varies throughout the season, and it blooms with milky white bells. It is better not to plant in the sun.

If desired, all of these varieties, as well as many others, can be grown as indoor plants.

Heuchera: planting and care in open ground

When growing this perennial, it is quite important to choose the right place to place it. The splendor of the bush and its flowering, the brightness of the color of the leaves, and the lifespan of the plant depend on this.

When thinking about where to plant heuchera, it is better to choose those areas where there is sun in the morning, or where there is light partial shade. Despite the fact that this plant is shade-tolerant, only in openwork partial shade will the heuchera reveal its beauty to the maximum. Planting and caring for young plants have their own characteristics: they should be located in places protected from strong wind and with well-drained, light and nutritious soil. This plant is unpretentious, but in areas where water stagnates for a long time, for example after rain, it will die, since root system will quickly begin to rot.

How to care for this flower?

We will not repeat how unpretentious the heuchera plant is. Planting and caring for it are simple: the right place with good soil, timely watering, mulching and hilling. As noted, this perennial does not tolerate stagnant moisture, but it also does not like dry soil. The soil around the plant should be constantly slightly moist, then the leaves will be large and beautiful, and the flowering will please.

In order to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture, especially on hot days, it is advisable to mulch the soil around the bush that the heuchera has formed with humus, leaves, grass or straw. Planting and caring for it in the fall, as well as mulching the plant, especially after the first frost, will prevent it from dying out in the spring.

To feed or not?

Quite often you can read in various sources that heucheras of any variety and type do not need feeding. This is partly true, but only when you have well-stocked fertile soils. And even in this case, it should be remembered that all supplies eventually come to an end. Many gardeners feed heucheras with complex mineral fertilizers with a small amount of nitrogen twice a season: before and after flowering. When feeding this plant, use only half the dose recommended by the manufacturer; no more is needed.

Diseases and pests

TO various diseases and insects that want to feast on it, heuchera, planting and caring for which corresponds to the agricultural technology of this plant, is quite stable. But unfavorable weather conditions, as well as a lack or excess of water, weaken the flower, and the larva of the grooved weevil can begin to “feast” on its roots. The insect itself is black and brown, only about 10 mm in length, decorated with deep grooves on the elytra. They feed at night, gnawing the edges of leaves, and during the day they hide in the soil. There they lay eggs, from which white larvae with a brown head hatch, gnawing roots. Pests also include slugs and snails, which love to “chew” young leaves.

Of the diseases that affect heuchera, the most common are bacterial spots and fungal infections.

How to propagate?

It is quite easy to obtain seedlings of a plant such as heuchera. Planting and caring for young plants in open ground is simple, but first you need to obtain seed in one of three ways:

By sowing the seeds;

Dividing the bush;

Rooting the side cuttings.

Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Dividing the bush

The easiest way to get several small heucheras is to divide a three to four year old plant. To do this you need:

1. Carefully dig up the plant.
2. Clean and sharp knife divide it into several parts.
3. Cut dry leaves down to the buds located in the axils of old leaves.
4. Damaged and long roots need to be cut off, and the cut should be sprinkled with ash, crushed coal or a root formation stimulator.
5. Before planting, you need to dig a hole measuring 0.3x0.3 m.
6. Put a little bit of anything on the bottom complex fertilizer and well-rotted humus.
7. Having straightened the roots, fill the hole with soil and compact it well.
8. Water and protect from sunlight.

Growing from seeds

A plant such as heuchera can be propagated by seeds. Planting and care are easy. It is important to remember that the seeds of this plant remain viable only for six months after collection. Pay attention to the packing date if you buy them in a store. If they are packaged in a foil bag, their shelf life can increase to one and a half years. Heuchera seeds are planted for seedlings in March-April, depending on the light level in the house.

In prepared soil, previously laid out in containers more than five centimeters high and spilled with a weak warm solution of potassium permanganate, loosened and leveled, seeds are sown, previously mixed with clean river sand. They should not be deepened, just pressing them into the ground a little is enough. Then the containers are covered with glass or transparent film, after which they are placed on a warm, well-lit windowsill. Shoots will appear in 14-21 days, all this time you need to ventilate the plantings daily. When the first three leaves appear, the seedlings are picked. In May, seedlings can be taken out into the garden or moved to a greenhouse, and in early June they can be planted in open ground. In autumn, young plants should be covered with straw or spruce branches.

Cuttings

Another way to propagate heuchera is by cuttings, which allows you to avoid digging up the plant. You need to find shoots with buds near the ground, trim them and transfer them to a greenhouse or seedling bed. The branches are treated with a root formation stimulator and planted in the ground so that the buds rise above the ground. In about 4-5 weeks, the planted cuttings will take root, and after a couple of months they can be transplanted into open ground.

It’s hard to believe, but there are decorative deciduous plants whose brightness of greenery can outshine the most spectacular flowers. A sign of this is heuchera, planting and caring for it in open ground is completely simple and accessible to summer residents in many regions of Russia.

Description of heuchera for open ground

All types of heuchera existing in nature come from the American continent. Here, plants from the Saxifraga family, justifying their origin, settled across the rocky wastelands of the central and southern United States and some parts of Mexico. Most of plants domesticated by humans are perennial decorative deciduous crops. According to the description, in the open ground, heuchera, which forms a lush rosette of split palmate leaves, changes their color depending on the season, miraculously transforming the corner of the garden allotted to it.

The appearance of foliage depends not only on the season, but also on the variety of heuchera. Thanks to two- or three-color leaves with jagged, smooth or corrugated edges, you can transform the most inconspicuous area.

The decorative effect is complemented by flowering that lasts all summer. The brightest inflorescences on erect peduncles are blood-red heuchera with small coral-colored corollas. In other species, the flowers are predominantly white or pinkish, collected in sparse paniculate inflorescences.

When to plant heuchera in open ground? What do you need to know about the nature of the plant and its preferences?

Conditions for growing heuchera in open ground

Typically, well-lit places are chosen for decorative foliage plants, where bright colors on the leaves will look most advantageous. However, heuchera easily takes root under the canopy of trees, but in an open area it can wither and will require frequent, abundant watering. Therefore, it is better for her to find an area with light protection from the scorching midday sun, but not in dense shade, which will “wash away” the unusual patterns from the leaves, leaving only a green background.

The requirement for sufficient illumination is especially important to fulfill when planting in open ground and caring for heuchera of variegated forms.

Despite its bright appearance, this perennial is unpretentious and, with proper care, grows well on summer cottages. In plantings, heuchera often coexists with hostas, coniferous crops, herbaceous ground cover plants and tall flowering species.

When planted and cared for in open ground, perennial heucheras are not picky about the composition and nutritional value of the soil, but do not tolerate:

• excessive soil acidity;
• high density of earth at the landing site;
• stagnation of groundwater, melt and rainwater.

On a loose substrate that retains a moderate amount of moisture well, the plants are especially lush.

Time to plant heuchera in open ground

In nature, heucheras reproduce by seeds and vegetatively due to the growth of leaf rosettes. In the garden it is better to use the second method.

Unfortunately, seeds collected from garden varieties do not retain the varietal characteristics of the plants, and from them grow plants that are close to wild ones.

It is much easier to get heuchera of the desired variety - using seedlings grown and seeds from a trusted manufacturer or dividing an adult rosette.

Seeds are sown in early spring into containers. In greenhouse conditions, the first shoots appear after 4–6 weeks. When the real leaves open on the sprouts, the plant is transferred to open ground. Taking into account future growth, the rosettes are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other.

In May or early autumn large, usually 3-4 year old, heuchera rosettes are planted, which lose their compactness and fall apart. This means that daughter plants have appeared near the main plant, and it’s time to separate them.

Planting perennial heuchera in open ground and caring for plants

To make the new plants more “fluffy,” 2–3 rosettes with their own rhizomes are left on each division. If for some reason the planting material does not have roots, you should not throw it away. Cuttings with several leaves and a piece of stem can be rooted by treating them with a stimulant and planting them in a sand-peat mixture. In a shaded greenhouse, roots form in 3–4 weeks.

If the cuttings are received in May or June, the time for planting heuchera in open ground is in the middle or second half of summer. The soil under such plants must be mulched, and the seedlings themselves provide protection from the bright sun.

On cuttings and large cuttings, the cut areas are powdered with crushed charcoal. Planting pits under the heuchera should have a depth of at least 30 cm and the same diameter. When this crop is used as a border, the distance between bushes is usually 25–35 cm.

After planting, the plants are watered, and the soil under them is sprinkled with rotted sawdust or chopped grass.

Caring for heuchera after planting in open ground

These plants are moisture-loving. Therefore, basic care for heuchera after planting in open ground includes:

• regular watering to prevent the soil from drying out;
• loosening the soil surface under and near bushes;
• weeding;
• fertilizing, which begins from the second year of life and is carried out using complex products for decorative deciduous crops.

IN warm time Heucheras are watered 3–5 times a week every year. In hot weather and in the absence of rain, it is better to moisten the soil daily in the morning or after sunset.

To prevent discolored burn marks from remaining on the heuchera leaves, the watering can should be kept as close to the ground as possible.

All plants of this genus bloom, but heuchera flowers are not always very attractive. If they interfere with the perception of the flower garden, or after wilting, the flower stalks are removed by cutting them off at the base. For the winter, the bushes leave with leaves. So that by spring the bases of the rosettes do not suffer from preliminium, it is better to cover them with loose spruce branches, oak branches, non-woven material and mulch.