You know, it seems impossible to really capture the "glow" of some heuchs in photos. I saw Cinnamon Curls at Lowes today and it was quite vivid, and I think it gets its reddest coloring in fall?

I've been coveting "Zipper" since FlowerFrenzy posted hers...it looks radiant!

I have lots of the curly leaved varieties because I like the texture they add to my garden. I just purchased Dolce Cinnamon Curls, and it's the only one I have (and I have over 100 varieties) that has super curly leaves in combination with the reddish color you desire.

One variety that I have that grows like a champ and has dark reddish leaves is Mahogany. It's leaves aren't exactly curly, but they are smaller with lots of texture, not big and floppy like some you've probably seen.

Jadie is right, Zipper is extremely vibrant with nice, curly leaves...but it's orange most of the time. It's reddish in the fall, though.

Other varieties that fit the bill for color may include; Autumn Leaves, Brass Lantern, Dolce Peach Melba, Root Beer and Rio. However, none of them have the curly leaves you're looking for.

Just a side note, most heuchera do go greenish or at least turn a less vibrant shade of color during the heat of the summer. They're at their most colorful in the spring and fall months.

Mahogany

Heucherella Brass Lantern (turns red in the fall)

Dolce Peach Melba

This is Autumn Leaves

Zipper (turns red in the fall)

Root Beer

Rio

I have other reds, but I find quite a few of the red varieties to be the weakest growers I have, so I can't recommend a lot of them.

This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Sat, May 17, 14 at 21:03

thank you so much!! I love the color of the mahogany & root beer varieties - do you find that they both grow relatively well?

would you recommend one of those over the other? and how do you think they compare, color-wise, to the cinnamon curls you just got?

thank you!!

I like those varieties as well. I find them both to be strong growers. Root Beer is red during the spring and fall and the color of root beer during the summer.

The backs of the leaves on Cinnamon Curls and Mahogany are rosy pink, which adds a lot to their color. Mahogany is a much richer shade of red (think true mahogany wood) than Cinnamon Curls. It looks like the new growth on CC is bright red fading to a brownish red, while Mahogany keeps pretty much the same rich color all year long. Mahogany's leaves also have a slight sheen to them, while CC's are matte.

You didn't mention how much sun these will be getting. The amount of sun and heat the plants are exposed to can change the color drastically. The varieties that I plant in full sun get a lot greener than the ones I have growing in shade. Also, the ones that are in muggy shade get a lot greener than the ones in cool shade. This is during the summer months, of course. Everything's bright in the spring.

If I had to pick a favorite, I'd probably go with Mahogany. All 3 are nice, but Mahogany is truly outstanding.

vibrant ... but in the other direction

pear crisp

dave

I just bought a 'Cinnamon Curls' and it's gorgeous!

The weather and the time of year can affect the color so maybe that is why this plant looks different from last year.

Linda

thank you all so much!

do you have any familiarity with Crimson Curls? My landscaper emailed me last night - she found her old notes and the plant we saw last year that was so beautifully vivid was Crimson Curl. When I do google image searches though, I see a few pics that are vivid but many other that are really dark.

The heuchera are edging my front flower beds and the front of the house is in shade much of the time, so I feel like the current placeholder heuchera (not even sure what they are) are getting lost in the shadows. I really want something with a bright reddish to brighten things up. I will try to post some photos - perhaps that can help with a suggestion of which variety might be the best fit.

first image is wide front shot - you'll see we have one plant by each side of bottom front steps and then lining front of beds on either side of porch steps, and they also wrap around the side of the porch, which isn't visible from this photo.

this is a shot of the left side of the entrance, which is almost always in shadow. the current heuchera just looks so bland against the mulch. granted, all of our landscaping is fairly new, so nothing is really full yet, and we've not planted any flowers yet, but I really want the heuchera to stand out rather than just get washed into shadow.

the other side of the porch steps tends to get more sunlight in the morning, but even here, the current plants are just blah, IMO.

Crimson Curls is a great plant. The color is kind of changeable depending on the season and temperature, but it always looks great.

Kevin

I dug up pictures of "Zipper" and "Brass Lantern" from last fall. As you can see, these get quite red.

This first pic is of "Brass Lantern" around the 1st of October 2013.

This one is "Zipper" around the same time last Fall. It has nice, curly leaves as well.

I like your planting space. I agree with you, though. The heuchs you have in there now kind of fade into the background. I think you have the right idea regarding getting a brighter colored variety.