Hello,

I have a few Heuchera (Electra, Peach Crisp and Peach Flambé) that I planted last September in my Dappled Shade garden under deciduous trees. All three Heucheras were planted in Miracle Gro Garden Soil for Flowers. Just for reference, I am in Zone 6b in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. When I planted these three Heuchera varieties, their leaves were very large, healthy, and colorful. During the winter, their leaves became quite tattered, probably from cold temperatures and lots of wind. I did some research online and found that the tattered leaves should be trimmed off in early Spring. So, in mid-March, I trimmed off all the tattered leaves of the three Heucheras, and I also fertilized each plant with 1 cup of Espoma Plant-tone organic fertilizer. Their leaves started emerging, and I was really excited for their color, but was disappointed to find that several months later, their leaves were very small. If I can find pictues from September of last year and pictures from this year, I will add them to this thread. None of the Heucheras bloomed either. I am so disappointed that the Heucheras aren't doing well, as they are beautiful plants with definite potential.

Please help me find out what went wrong. Did I over-fertilize? Are they receiving too little sun? Am I not supposed to trim back tattered foliage?

Gardening is full of guesswork and experimentation, and I would like to figure out what I may be doing wrong and improve from that.

Thank you so much for your help!
Nicholas Cole

@NJBob Can you give Nicholas some advice? I only just put my toe in the pool of huechera with my first one being a recent purchase. But Nicholas's message touched me and I'm hoping maybe you can help.

I'm stumped! It seems as if you did everything correctly although maybe too much fertilizer. I hope someone with heuchera experience can help you out. Cartography! Fantastic!

I'm not too sure on the Huecheras but they might be still coming out of dormancy? I don't know much, I only have one, but it makes small leaves in the spring. In the summer they made large leaves.

I think it might be the trimming, which caused it to loose a lot of possible nutrients. The leaves,, when cut off, decrease the amount of energy the plant can make, so I think that might be the issue.

Hello breith95 & sedumzz,

Thank you for the useful information! This winter and coming spring I will refrain from cutting back the foliage of my Heucheras, and see how they do. I will also use less fertilizer in the spring, maybe only a half or quarter cup instead of a full cup.

Thanks again!
Nicholas Cole

Good luck!

A question first about the Miracle Gro Garden Soil, Did you mix the soil with your native soil 50/50 or fill the hole with that soil? It is supposed to be an addition to your soil . I prefer potting mix as it gives better drainage. As far as losing leaves during Winter almost all of mine lose them all over the Winter and I cut them off at the start of March. They are not heavy feeders at all , I give a little 5 5 5 in the Spring and some fish emulsion once a month or so. The plants you buy are greenhouse grown under prime conditions so most times in your landscape plants will have somewhat smaller leaves but without pics hard to tell if they are too small. Color can vary depending on location , I have had plants of same variety just a few feet apart with very different looks . You need to find that right balance of enough sun for color without them getting burned. For me the ones with Villosa in their background have done the best . Out of the 3 you have only Electra has been a good grower , sadly the more intense the orange or red the weaker they seem. I would suggest Caramel for an orange tone and Monster Mahogany for a red. Good luck with them and I hope some of this helped.

Thank you @NJBob

Hi NJBob,

Thank you for the helpful information!

In that regard, are there any other orange or red Heucheras and Heucherellas that you can recommend for my garden? I have recently done some research on orange Heucherellas, and have come across a few varieties such as "Hopscotch" and "Copper King." Hopscotch is a PW variety, and Copper King is a newer release by Walters Gardens. I also looked at "Red Rover," another Heucherella by PW.

Do you think either of these would be suitable for my garden? I have heard that Heucherellas are more shade-tolerant than Heucheras, so they would likely do better in my case.

Thank you so much to everybody for their help!
- Nick

I have not tried Copper King and the 2 PW ones only lasted 2 seasons. The Northern Exposure Heuchera have done well and include an orange called Amber and a red . As for Heucherella , Sweet Tea and Brass Lantern do well. Copper King does look very nice and I will try it if I see it around.

Here is a link to Mt. Cuba Heuchera growing trials. https://mtcubacenter.org/trial....

I live in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, Zone 6. My soil is made up of a lot of clay. I do add compost to my soil, as well as other nutrients. I have worked with this garden for 30 years.

I have bought many heuchera plants, from local nurseries, as well as mail order. Gallon pots to quart pots. To date, I have never successfully grown them for more than 3 years. They start out fine after being planted the first year. The second year they come back smaller and the third year they are tiny or disappear. None have ever bloomed.

I work in a nursery and have run into other gardeners that have had the same experience as me.
On a podcast, "Let's argue about plants", the editor of fine gardening magazine, who lives in Connecticut, has had the same experience.

You may not be able to grow these beauties. I tried for 20 years. Although I can grow heucherella, tapestry, which is a "runner" , that even blooms, for me. Hope this helps.

I have had Stainless Steel, Forever Purple for 7 years plus, just recently got Grande™ Amethyst, my soil is mostly clay that I try to add organic material whenever I can. They face North with partial shady conditions and a in ground irrigation system. Never had much luck with the bright colored ones. All this is a snowy zone 4 garden, think part of the key may be to keep lightly moist but not wet, about the only fertilizer they get on occasion is Milorganite. All of the leaves are large and the plants bloom every year.

crawgarden said: I have had Stainless Steel, Forever Purple for 7 years plus, just recently got Grande™ Amethyst, my soil is mostly clay that I try to add organic material whenever I can. They face North with partial shady conditions and a in ground irrigation system. Never had much luck with the bright colored ones. All this is a snowy zone 4 garden, think part of the key may be to keep lightly moist but not wet, about the only fertilizer they get on occasion is Milorganite. All of the leaves are large and the plants bloom every year.

Same here. Several for over 20 years. I keep them in pots . Lift out of garden for winter. Place pots under porch covers and they are fine. Also can propagate easily as long as a root is included with a stem…