16 Jan 2011

Heuchera ‘Autumn Leaves’

heuchera-autumn-leaves-2

heuchera-autumn-leaves

One of the true ubiquitous shade garden stalwarts, Heuchera continue to lambast the senses on a near never ending basis – thus you can perhaps sense the reasoning behind my love-hate relationship where they are concerned. Now wait, is it Lime Rickey or Lime Marmalade, or perhaps its Electra that you want. Can you see the difference? I can’t see the difference? And thus, the calamity that confronts me on an annual basis when selecting stock. Sweet Jesus! [And don’t even get me started with Heucherella….. swap and add a letter or two and all hell breaks loose!]

Heuchera ‘Autumn Leaves’ is purportedly one of the newest chameleons within the genus, with foliage emerging red in the Spring, fading to a taupe colour in the height of summer and deepening to a rich ruby red just in time for cooler Fall weather! With H. villosa x H.americana parentage, it is also said to be more tolerant of warmer, humid laden summers. Hardy between Zones 4-9, this reptilian member of the Heuchera family is a modest grower with an approximate height of 32cm with a spread of roughly the same. Flowers [and here’s another can of worms to open: Are they really that attractive?] are a somewhat insignificant cream, but seriously people, you’re buying members of this burgeoning genus for its foliage, right?

Specs

Zones 4-8. Height and spread of approximately 30-36cm. Somewhat more tolerant to heat and humidity; enjoys well draining, humus rich soil.

Coming to LittleTree Spring 2011

4 comments:

allanbecker-gardenguru said...

Some garden experts maintain that Heucheras are short lived. Can you add anything to this conversation?

Barry said...

Allan:
I too have heard similar rumblings! I do know that every fall I lift mine and deepen its existing home and then replant it again as I find that they tend to heave in the winter. Come Springtime they are barely holding their ground so to speak! I am starting a new Forum page where we as a gardening community can come together and discuss and share our knowledge on topics just like this one.... thanks ever so much for the reminder!

Anonymous said...

In my experience, a Zone 8 garden with dry summers/wet winters I can say unequivocally to Allan's question: it depends. Some heucheras are tougher than others. Some will die off when riddled with root weevils, others are more tolerant. Most, I've had great luck growing and keeping. I would love the opportunity to grow Autumn Leaves however it looks similar to Georgia Peach which I already have... here we go again.

Olga said...

That is very well written info! I just bought Heuchera 'Autumn Leaves' for my plant collection and this info is very helpful. You have beautiful blog, Allan. I'll follow it from now on.