Color in the shade for your garden CORAL BELLS

By PAM BAYTOS

OSU Ext. master gardener volunteer

CANFIELD

My favorite foliage plant is Heuchera, commonly called coral bells. Of course, now that I’ve found this incredible plant, I need more semishade in my landscape.

It’s a case of “people with curly hair wishing for straight hair and those with straight hair wishing for curly.” This is one of the most maintenance-free, disease-resistant plants that add not only color but texture to your garden.

Coral bells work well in woodland areas, rock gardens, containers, boarders and even as ground cover.

Plants form round mounds with a woody crown at the base. Growing to 18 inches with small bell-shaped flowers on tall stems that attract hummingbirds and make nice cut flowers. They are rarely troubled by deer. Plant in zone 4-8 in sun to partial shade.

It’s been my experience that with our hot summers they do best in partial shade as color can be washed out in full sun, and too much heat and light can cause leaves to scorch.

Avoid planting them in damp shade as they can develop fungus diseases. They have found their happy place in my east-facing flower beds and flourish into pretty mounds of color.

In spring, layer with a half-inch of compost or a light, slow-release fertilizer. Avoid heavy applications of quick-release fertilizer as it inhibits flower formation.

I noticed this week two of my newer plants had heaved out of the ground this winter by the freezing and thawing we’ve had. If this happens, just replant them to the correct depth. Winter mulching after ground freezes often prevents this heaving out from happening.

In summer, layer with 2 inches of mulch to retain moisture and control weeds. Divide them in early spring every three to four years or when the plant falls open in the center. Lift the plant, divide the root ball into clumps and replant, spacing 1 to 2 feet apart depending on the variety.

Many new varieties are developed every year with leaf colors from purple, chartreuse, caramel, and silver as examples. Leaf shapes range from rounded, lobed, ruffled and are often patterned with contrasting leaf veins in darker shades than the main leaf color.

Coral bells are wonderful to use alongside the foliage of ferns, caladiums, bleeding hearts and hostas. Their colorful foliage is great for playing up colors of nearby flowers with purple leaves making yellow’s glow, and chartreuse leaves make darker colors pop.

A few of my favorites are Tiramisu with chartreuse leaves tinged red; Midnight Rose with deep wine leaves with magenta speckles; Venus with silvery foliage with darker veining; and Carmel, which has rust, orange and gold leaves all at once.

The choices seem endless, and by choosing wisely, you’ll be adding color and texture to enhance your current plantings.