Heuchera 'Frosted Violet'
 
Tried and True Recommended by 3 Professionals
Common Name: coral bells
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Saxifragaceae
Zone: 4 to 9
Garden Location: Kemper Center Landscape, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Flower Borders
Height: 1 to 2.5 feet
Spread: 1 to 1.5 feet
Bloom Time: June to July
Bloom Description: Light pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Leaves: Colorful

Culture

Best grown in organically rich, humusy, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Performs well in full sun in the north, but prefers some shade (particularly in the heat of the afternoon) in the south. In the St. Louis area, best foliage color may occur in sunny spots with part afternoon shade. Scorch and general foliage decline usually occur if soils are allowed to dry out. If grown in full sun, consistent moisture is particularly important. Remove stems of faded flowers to encourage additional bloom. Some gardeners prefer to remove flower stems as they appear before flowering when plants are being grown as ground covers for their showy foliage. Foliage is essentially evergreen in warm winter climates, but the amount of retained foliage color in cold winter climates such as St. Louis depends in large part upon the severity of the temperatures. In cold winter climates, a winter mulch applied after the ground freezes will help prevent root heaving. Divide clumps in spring every 3-4 years.

Noteworthy Characteristics

‘Frosted Violet’ is a clump-forming, hybrid coral bells cultivar. Plant parents are H. ‘Silver Lode’ (female/seed parent) and H. ‘Bronze Wave’ (male/pollen parent). Rounded, lobed, new leaves emerge pink-purple in spring, but gradually mature to silvery-purple to plum-purple with dark veining. Leaves take on a fluorescent appearance when sun strikes the leaf-surface hairs. Foliage forms a large basal mound to 12” tall and 24” wide. Tiny, light pink flowers in open, airy panicles appear in late spring to early summer on slender, wiry stems rising well above the foliage mound to 30” tall. U. S. Plant Patent PP15,085 issued August 17, 2004.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Frost heaving of roots may occur when winter temperatures fluctuate widely.

Garden Uses

Mass as a ground cover or grouping or specimen. Rock gardens, borders and open woodland gardens. Effective as an edger along paths or walkways.