A smashing versatile and easy to grow garden choice, Heuchera Berry Smoothie (Coral Bells) ground cover features dainty spikes of creamy white bell-shaped flowers flushed with pink rising from the striking foliage from mid Spring to Summer. The stars of the show are its dramatic berry-red leaves, which deepen to purple pink and are attractively crinkled, with softly bristled leaves emerging in Spring.
Semi-evergreen, with some of the foliage dying back in Winter, Heuchera Berry Smoothie make a lovely colourful low growing addition to the front of mixed beds and borders, they also make a great container plant. Highly effective as a weed supressing ground cover carpet if planted in groups, they will provide near year-round colour with the added interest of their plume stalks of delicate flowers, loved by bees, from late Spring through to early-mid Summer (trim these flower stalks down to their base when they have gone brown and the plant will continue to produce flowers – though with less regularity towards the end of their flowering season). Try planting with contrasting colours of Heuchera Lime Marmalade, or under Acers with Hosta and mixed dwarf grasses.
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Heuchera Berry Smoothie ground cover are semi-evergreen except in very harsh Winters when their leaves and foliage die back to ground level. They prefer dappled or semi-shaded locations but will withstand more direct sunlight than the paler/lighter varieties. One thing they do require is moist but well-drained soil until established, when they will tolerate drier soil. They will not thrive in soil that becomes waterlogged so add grit and well-rotted garden compost to clay soils before planting. To maintain them simply cut back any tatty or brown foliage from the previous year in early Spring and divide any clumps that become congested in early Spring or late Autumn.
How to grow Heuchera Berry Smoothie
Position: Full Sun/partial shade
Foliage: Semi-evergreen, palmate shaped leaves may die back in Winter but reappear from Spring
Soil and site: Fertile, moisture retaining & well drained
Flowering time: Late Spring through to mid-late Summer
Growth rate: Moderate
Ultimate height and spread: 40cm (to 70cm when in flower) and 15cm
Hardiness: Hardy once established
Aftercare: Water well until established, avoiding soil becoming waterlogged. Trim off any dead/straggly areas after flowering has finished. Divide clumps in early Spring or late Autumn if they become congested
