Heuchera: planting and care

Heuchera is an attractive perennial plant. Its main feature is its unusual foliage, which changes its color during the growing season. Geuchera is often used as a decoration by landscape designers.

Heuchera varieties

North America is considered the birthplace of Heuchera. Casting of this plant can have different shapes and colors - there are varieties with black, scarlet, purple, yellow and red foliage. Varieties with patterned foliage have also been bred. The latter varieties of Heuchera are considered to be especially valuable. Most often, gardeners breed such varieties of this plant:

• Heuchera blood-red is distinguished by bright red flowers and green foliage, collected in a dense rosette. There are varieties of this variety, where the leaves are interspersed with white and cream shades.

• Heuchera small-flowered is one of the most beautiful varieties of this plant. Its leaves are similar in shape to maple leaves. This variety is especially attractive due to silvery stains on the foliage.

• Hybrid Heuchera is obtained by crossing different species. These plants have larger leaves than other pure species. The foliage is green with numerous blotches of various colors. Compared to the parental species, the hybrid Heuchera is less resistant to frost and has a particularly fragile peduncles.

Planting Heuchera

Perfect time for landing this plant is March or April. It feels great in the shade, so choose an area for Heuchera where it will be protected from the direct sun by the shade of other plants. She will feel great on the east or west side of the building, where the sun is shown only in the morning or evening hours.

Geykhera is very unpretentious to the soil, even stony soil will suit her, because in natural conditions it grows in such areas. But the fertile and loose soil allows the plant to bloom in all its glory. For her, stagnation of water in the root system is detrimental, so it is important to provide high-quality drainage.

You can plant this plant with seeds or seedlings. The first option does not guarantee the preservation of species properties, and a common plant with green foliage grows from seeds. For this reason, it is necessary to grow seedlings in boxes. It will take about a month and a half to germinate seedlings. After the seedlings grow up, they can be transplanted to a permanent place. They are placed from each other at a distance of about 20 cm, deepening to 4 cm.

Geyhera care

The most important thing that is required for leaving behind this plant, this is to ensure timely glaze... You do not need to pour the bushes, but you cannot allow the soil to dry out. The soil must be moist all the time, for which watering is carried out in the morning and evening. For better moisture retention, the soil is best mulched with peat, leaves or straw.

If you have chosen the right place for planting Heuchera and water it well, then in feeding not necessary. If desired, you can apply a small amount of fertilizer with a low amount of nitrogen before the heuchera begins to bloom and after the flowers fall. By the way, if you grow Heuchera because of the decorative foliage, then the peduncles must be removed before they grow and bloom. They grow too long and spoil the decorative effect of the plant.

For the winter, heuchera should be covered with rotted leaves or spruce branches. On top, the bushes are additionally covered with any covering material and a thick layer of snow is laid. You can completely remove the cover only after the soil has completely thawed. In the spring, old foliage is removed from the bushes and watered with a small amount of warm water with the addition of mineral dressing.

Geichera: photo