New to Growing Heucheras

14 years ago

I bought my first heucheras this week ..Amethyst Mist, Silver Scrolls and and unnamed variety from Home Depot ... a healty looking plant. Altho' I've done some research I still have questions and am wondering if those of you who have hands on experience can give me some guidence.

First, are they deer resistant? I can't find any information about this. The ones I bought kind of have the fuzzy leaves common to plants that deer ignore, but deer often don't follow the rules.

Second, how heat tolerant are they ? I've read that some can grow in full sun, but my full sun in the mountains of northern California may be different than the full sun in, let's say the San Francisco bay area. My summer temps generally range from the mid-90s to 105 degrees with some peaks of around 110 degrees. It's unrelentingly hot for weeks at a time.

Third, The plants I purchased are horribly root bound and I had planned to pot them up into larger pots to allow them to grow a healthier root mass. Is this the right way to go ?

I can see another addiction coming on, but I think I need to learn the basics first. So far, my gardening books provide very general information. I'd really would appreciate any advice you might offer.

Smiles,

Lyn

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Comments (3)

alina_1
14 years ago
1. Heucheras are moderately deer resistant... Unfortunately, they are not deer proof. If you will have Hosta next to Heuchera, deer will definitely prefer Hosta. However, if you have nothing more delicious than Heuchera, they can munch on it from time to time.
2. Look for Heucheras with villosa parentage - they are more heat and humidity tolerant. The rule of thumb is dark/purple Heucheras are more suitable for sun than other colors. Chartreuse and other light colored ones can't tolerate direct sun at all even in my 6/7 zone.
3. You are right - get a bigger pots and replant your Heucheras. Keep them potted till fall or next spring. Note that the soil in pots dries much faster than in the ground, so place your pots in dappled shade and water them frequently.

Welcome to new addiction and good luck!
ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
14 years ago
Last February I decided I needed a heuchera. I now have 27 of them and 9 more on the way. I must say that this is the only thing to rival my hosta, cacti, canna, orchid and begonia addiction. Welcome. We enable. Be sure to post some photos and add them to the ABC of Heuchera.
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roseblush1
Original Author
14 years ago
Alina ... I know nothing is completely deer proof and I have gotten used to them taking a nibble here and there. I've got my back yard deer proofed, so I was trying to decide whether or not I could plant them out in what I call "deer territory". I think I'll take a chance on at least one of them.

Where do you find the lineage information for the different cultivars ?

Thank God it's the dark colored ones that called my name first. I have more sun than shade and the shade is out in deer territory.

How do you over winter the container grown plants ?

You are wise to caution me about soil drying in containers. In this garden, it's hard to keep anything properly watered in a container during the summer months.

Thanks for confirming my hunch that I needed to let them develop a good root system before planting them in the ground.

ilovetogrow ... no photos until I get a new camera. Mine died just as I was taking photos of the first flush of roses. Dang ! It will be a while, but that will give the plants a chance to be healthier when I finally can take photos.

Thank you for the welcome and you guys have already been enabling ..

Smiles,
Lyn

PS ... I'll be reading as many posts as I can so I can get up to speed. Thank you.