What red heuchera has performed the best in your garden? I lost most of my reds and a lot of my peachy colored heuchs last winter. I am in zone 5.

I would love to know what works best in your gardens.

Hi Carolyn, Good to see you here. I could give you a list but it probably would not be relevant because I'm so much warmer in the winter.

I guess my best red would be Fire Alarm which survived last Winter.
Hope all is well with Carolyn, and good to hear from you.

So Fire Alarm did well for you Bob? I am looking at that one and a couple of others.

I am thinking about extending my heuchera bed too. I thought it would be a good winter project for me to think about.

I am well - I hope both of you are well too.

Carolyn

Just so you know Fire Chief and Autumn Leaves did not overwinter and that was not as severe Winter as last year. What ones were you thinking of trying?

I am not sure yet, Bob. I know that I lost my red ones and most of my peachy colored ones. I was looking at Fire Alarm and I also liked Paprika.

Surprisingly I also lost Brownies and Mocha, however that happened prior to this past winter.

Paprika survived but has not grown very much. But almost none have grown as large as normal this year. And now they are saying this Winter should be worse then last.

Melting Fire is my favorite red. It doesn't bloom a lot for me, but the foliage is beautiful. It survives in arctic Minnesota just fine and seems to have more sun tolerance than some of the others I grow.
I have some friends who like Crimson Curls - those seem to do well also.

Jeanie - Thank you. I did have Crimson Curls and loved it. I lost that one a couple of years ago. Melting Fire didn't do well for me - it never grew much and just kind of faded away. One that I really liked was Sparkling Burgundy - that one is gone as well.

Bob - bite your tongue on the winter.

Are the red and peachy colored ones less hardy? I should probably qualify that question as Southern Comfort and Caramel are still going strong for me.

I have heard good things about Southern Comfort and Caramel. I had Georgia Peach and loved the color, but it faded a lot; I replaced it with something else. I also have Cherry Cola, but I will probably take that out too because I think it's too orange. I look less at the color than the breeder/hybridizer. I am definitely a fan of Delabroye's cultivars in particular.

Jeanie

I am very happy with Caramel and I have Citronelle and am happy with that as well. Ironically, I did try Christa, but that one did not last long.

I haven't tried Cherry Cola, but now you have me thinking about Crimson Curls again. Have you looked at Cinnamon Curls? That looks interesting too.

Carolyn

Carolyn, I am kind of sticking with the more neutral colored heuchera varieties since I revamped most of my gardens a few years ago. But Cinnamon Curls looks pretty!

Well Cinnamon Curls has not been good for me. Got it this spring and it is the same size as when i bought it.

A couple I forgot about are Root Beer which has been a much stronger grower then Cherry Cola. And Mahogany has been one of my best plants for many years now.
Melting Fire is one that never did well for me.

Julia

If it isn't growing for you, I doubt it would grow for anybody - your weather is so perfect for heuchs.

Bob - I do have Mahogany (thank you Julia) that is hanging on by a thread. We will see how it overwinters.

I would be more than happy to do a trade. I must have some heuchs that have done well that others do not have.

Julia I agree for my climate I check the breeder I also do good with Primrose Path. They are really good for me since they are in Pa. I stay away from Terra Nova unless the plant is 3.00 or less.

Dolce Cinnamon Curls is new for me this year and hasn't seen a winter yet, but so far it's doing well and I noticed today it is putting on some nice deep red new growth. I have it growing in full sun from morning until about 3 in the afternoon when the sun finally makes its way around the other side of the house. This time of the year the sun exposure is less than at the height of summer.

I also have Cherry Cola, two of them (number two was a piece of crown that had broken off of number one which I rooted), one in the same full sun bed as DCC and the other in full shade beneath a purple plum tree. Number one, the full sun plant, is not doing as well and the leaves are faded and it doesn't seem to flower that well, but it's still alive. The one in shade has nice color and has bloomed all season long. Both have survived three winters.

I also have Autumn Leaves growing in full sun which I may move if I can find somewhere else for it. The color isn't very good so it could be getting too much sun. This plant is my second attempt at growing this plant. The first one didn't make it through a wet winter (it was also grown in clay soil in a yard prone to flooding at a different house). Number two hasn't seen a winter yet. It seems to be doing okay, but hasn't thrived for me. Like I said, it may just need to be moved to less sun. Also, didn't help that my brother kept trying to trample it every day.

Karen

I am sure the trampling did not do AL any good at all. I have AL and it has thrived for me. I have it in full shade. So far, I have been very pleased with AL. It flowers profusely for me as well.

I am thinking about the CC. I would like to know how it fares the winter for you.

Carolyn

Carolyn,

You mean Cherry Cola? It has done well for me, this is my third or fourth season growing it. Can't remember. Crimson Curls however, will have to wait and see come next spring. So far it's doing well, but we will see what winter brings. We had a lot of snow last winter and frigid temps, but all of that snow kept the heucheras insulated from the -24F weather we had. We hardly got above freezing for two or three months. Without that snow they probably wouldn't have fared as well. I hope, if it's going to be another cold one this year, that we get plenty of snow cover. Obsidian actually looked the worse out of all of my heuchera and I thought it was going to be a goner, but it came back bigger and nicer than ever.

Karen

I meant Cinnamon Curls - I would be interested to know how it fares.

I almost lost Obsidian as well. It still is not anything that it was prior to last winter. I think another horrible winter will be the end of it - but we will see.