Give your garden lasting colour with these easy-grow foliage favourites
Few plants offer as much versatility as heucheras. Their colourful evergreen leaves bring interest throughout the year, while their delicate summer flowers add extra appeal. Available in shades from bright green and rich purple to soft pinks and oranges, they work well in borders, containers and hanging baskets.
Here are six simple ways to make the most of them in your garden.
Line paths and beds
Just as box hedging or lavender can define the edges of borders, heucheras make excellent edging plants.
Using heucheras avoids problems with box blight and provides a wide choice of foliage colours, along with airy flowers in summer. Choose a single shade such as deep purple or fresh green for a more formal look, or mix colours together for a bolder display.
Bring colour up high
Heucheras prefer well-drained soil, making them ideal for hanging baskets where compost can dry out quickly.
Mix different foliage colours together for a low-maintenance display. Pair them with tufts of carex and trailing ivy to create contrast in shape and texture. Their flowers provide extra interest in early summer.
Plant for winter wow
A splash of colour can make a big difference during the darker months.
Choose bright lime, pink, purple and orange heucheras to bring vivid colour to the garden when many other plants are less eye-catching. Their evergreen foliage provides interest right through winter.
Brighten a shady spot
Native to woodland areas of North America, heucheras can cope with a good amount of shade.
Purple-leaved varieties perform particularly well in shadier conditions, although many of the hundreds of available cultivars are suitable. They mix well with hostas and can be used to add colour beneath trees, without attracting the slug problems often associated with hostas.
Pop in a pot
Heucheras are excellent container plants, whether planted on their own or combined with other favourites.
Different foliage colours can be mixed together, or teamed with bedding plants, perennials and grasses. Simple combinations are often the easiest to maintain. Try pairing carex with heucheras, or combine ajuga, cyclamen, abelia, carex and heuchera ‘Marmalade’ for a colourful display.
Grow for ground cover
While some heucheras stand out as feature plants thanks to their bright foliage, they are also useful as ground cover.
As plants grow and form larger clumps, they help fill gaps and suppress weeds. Try _Stipa tenuissim_a, ophiopogon, salvia ‘Mainacht’ and heuchera ‘Beauty Colour’ for a striking planting scheme.
Top tip
Heucheras grown in containers can be affected by vine weevil. Apply nematodes in autumn or spring to control grubs and help prevent infestations. If a plant is affected, remove and wash off any grubs, repot the remaining plant into fresh compost and water it well. Although the roots may have been badly damaged, the plant may regrow and recover.
Did you know?
Bees love heuchera flowers and will visit them throughout summer, stopping at each individual bloom in search of nectar.
Love what you’re reading?
Subscribeto Garden News and get the latest gardening advice, plant care tips, and outdoor living ideas delivered straight to your door. Whether you're a seasoned grower or just starting out, Garden News brings you expert insights that’ll help your garden thrive.