Holy Heuchera

The longer I spend time in the green industry the more I realize that a well-balanced landscape really does consist of a mixture of plant types. Great design, I believe, has a balance of deciduous ornamentals, conifers, perennials, bulbs and perhaps a tropical or two for some spice. Early on in my education I believed conifers to be supreme. And while my belief is that conifers are stately, bold and colorful they can stand to be supported, brilliantly, by perennial and annual color. One particular genus that I have grown to be quite fond of is Heuchera.

Heuchera is a versatile group that seems to have endless possibilities. At least 50 species of herbaceous perennials, all are native to North America. The most common name for this group is coral bells, however, alumroot is also used. Palmately-lobed leaves seem to be the biggest attractant for me. Heuchera was named after Johann Heinrich von Heucher (1677-1746), an 18^th century German physician who, I believe, would be proud of the exciting colors today’s Heuchera bring. There is considerable variety with these some 50 species. Adding to the complexities is the different conditions these Heuchera prefer. Temperature, soil and light are just three obvious hurdles that Heuchera can be sensitive to. With that said, Heuchera are an engaging group that have many gardeners and non-gardeners WOWED! Heuchera sanguinea, can be found in the dry canyons of Arizona while Heuchera maxima is found on the Channel Islands of California amongst the rocks and wind of the salt water shore. Horticulturists have enjoyed playing with this species, hence developing many new types. Bloom size, foliage color, foliage types and geographic tolerances have gardeners collecting the next great Heuchera.
Natives of the Northwestern United States have used tonic derived from Alumroot roots to aid digestive difficulties and the leaves, though somewhat astringent, have also been used to add complexity to “bland greens”. The majority of Heuchera sold for gardens today are hybrids of Heuchera americana. Our most popular seller Heuchera ‘Purple Palace’ was discovered in a royal palace in England and is believed to be a hybrid of H. micrantha x H. villosa, later crossed with H. americana.

Aside from their value in the ground supporting other plant types, I have found them equally rewarding in planters. Again, big bold colors and textures set within the confines of interesting pottery gives drama to any space. Specifically, at our own house, Heuchera ‘Black Beauty’ rests in a planter. ‘Black Beauty’ has purplish-black foliage with ruffled outer margins. I really don’t care about the tiny white, bell-shaped flowers it produces, it’s the foliage in a dark space that keeps my attention. An herbaceous perennial with a tiny footprint, 12-16”, ‘Black Beauty’ has a big impact in a cobalt blue container with Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, golden hakone grass. Heuchera ‘Southern Comfort’ was hybridized with Heuchera villosa for improved heat and humidity tolerance. That being said, New Jersey gardeners should seek this one out. Large, cinnamon-peach leaves turn burnished amber in the fall months. Creamy-white summer flowers, again, are wasted on me, as the foliage is rich enough. Heuchera x ‘Georgia Peach’ was also bred with villosa. ‘Georgia Peach’ shows the same heat and humidity tolerance and doesn’t seem to melt away in our agonizing summer months. Large peach-colored leaves have a sort of white, veil-like pattern. Dark orange tones are clearly evident in the spring, while rosy-purple tones follow in the fall. Heuchera villosa ‘Caramel’ has new leaves emerging a bright gold, maturing to a peachy-orange. ‘Caramel’ seems to take more sun in our yard. Finally, Heuchera ‘Sashay’ has just made our back yard. A small mass planting of ‘Sashay’ surrounds a smaller Ginkgo biloba ‘Korinek’. ‘Sashay’ has bicolored foliage, dark green on the top with a purple belly, and heavily crinkled edges. It is because of these textured edges that you can clearly see the two colors working together in the garden. Its tidy, mounding habit quickly reaches 16 inches tall and wide and seems a perfect fit for my OCD tendencies.

Vibrant colors, great texture and endless possibilities await your garden should you choose a Heuchera. There have been great strides made since Johann Heinrich von Heucher. Perhaps the only thing that can eclipse Heuchera is Heucherella, a perennial flowering plant that is a hybrid of Heuchera and Tiarella. Clearly a topic for another time!

‘Gingerbread’ Is Not Just For The Holidays!

Social medias are growing on me. Once apprehensive and skeptical about these viral outlets, I have grown to like them and find them purposeful and educational at times. I still feel that they are used as a popularity contest, by some, trying to acquire as many friends as they can on the likes of Facebook, however, I have come to find my groove with them, using social medias as an invaluable tool to educate and inform others about plants.
Last month I took a field trip with a fellow colleague, John Stella, and a customer of ours to our deciduous tree grower in the middle of Pennsylvania. The goal, that day, was to find and hand tag, as we do with all our plant material, two fastigiate trees that would frame the entranceway to our customer’s home. During our expedition we happened across a small grove of a more unusual, yet up and coming, deciduous tree named ‘Gingerbread’ Paperbark maple (Acer griseum x nikoense ‘Ginzam’). Here we were in the middle of a field, surrounded by some 800 acres of trees and I had the opportunity to film this exquisite tree. After filming the attributes and describing the tree in full detail I was able to upload the experience to our website and YouTube channel and offer the experience to the world. More specifically though to our customers and other plant enthusiasts.
Acer griseum x nikoense ‘Gingerbread’ is a four-season tree, having visible attributes in every season! What most have come to expect from Paperbark maple (Acer griseum) is the reliable exfoliating bark that seems to tear and fold over in sheets while maintaining a polished, smooth, copper-cinnamon color throughout the tree. A trait that is most notable in the winter when the tree is undressed, however clearly visible year round. Acer ‘Gingerbread’s’ bark, however, is visibly different. Here the bark is fissured, that is to say torn lengthwise with vertical furrows as it matures and this persists all the way through the head of the tree. However, during its adolescence unbelievable markings help identify and punctuate its impressive bark. Standing in the middle of Pennsylvania, that day, looking carefully at rows of ‘Gingerbread’, muscular, ripples were clearly evident along the trunk, even from a distance, whereas the bark seemed as though muscles were being flexed from within the tree creating an almost crosshatch pattern. ‘Gingerbread’ is a small to medium tree in stature, with mature specimens expected to grow 20-25 feet high and 10-15 feet wide. The overall habit is rounded to slightly oval, with trifoliate leaves that go from green to remarkable hues of red and orange in the autumn. Appreciating full sun to part shade, ‘Gingerbread’ is drought tolerant once established, however appreciates occasional attention. Expect less than 12 inches a year in annual growth from this deciduous wonder.
Mentioned earlier, ‘Gingerbread’ is a hybrid between Acer griseum and Acer maximowiczianum (formerly Acer nikoense). Both trees are indigenous to Central China with Nikko Maple being slightly more cold hardy than griseum. However, both trees, academically, will survive in zone 5 easily. Suitable for small yards, both trees have been used as specimens; however a grove of Acer griseum’s I once saw in Hoboken, New Jersey still remains with me. Relatively pest free, the stigma that both are fiscally unobtainable to most has been overshadowed, as availabilities have increased. So who is credited for finding this faster grower than the species? Well, kudos go out to Girard Nurseries in Geneva, Ohio. After a lengthy search to find out whose tree this actually was, I came across a garden forum that identified Girard Nurseries as the finder of the tree. A quick phone call to the nursery confirmed what I had found and I was introduced to Jeff Forinash, one of the owners of the nursery, who told me how the tree came about. Apparently seed was picked in Rochester, New York in the early 1960’s by Girard’s grandfather and the original tree, standing some 25 feet tall, is outside their facility still today.
Our field trip was successful by many accounts. We did manage to find and tag two Zelkova serrata ‘Musashino’s’ standing some 22 feet tall, with 5.5” caliper trunks, weighing in at 3,500 pounds fulfilling our customer’s request. And while that may seem impressive the “sleeper” of the trip was clearly the ‘Gingerbread’ block we happened across. A small block, albeit, those 5-6” caliper ‘Gingerbread’s’ will forever hold in my mind. A multi-season tree with outstanding bark, fall color, trifoliate leaves and a small stature, even a suitable bonsai candidate… you see, you can enjoy ‘Gingerbread’ all year long.