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gardenfanatic2003

What do you have planted next to your Heucheras?

gardenfanatic2003
17 years ago

I am so ramped up for spring! I have plans to add 5 more heucheras to my collection - Peach Flambe, Frosted Violet, Amethyst Mist, Sparkling Burgundy, and Raspberry Ice.

As an add-on to the other post about what's your favorite heuchera, I'm interested in knowing what you plant next to your heucheras. I'm particularly trying to think what to plant by the Peach Flambe. However, that's not the only one I'd like ideas for, since I'll have a variety of colors and shades of heucheras. It can't be anything full sun - my heucheras are all in a part sun/dappled shade area. Since I'm adding so many heucheras, and probably a few more hostas, I'm going to rearrange the bed, so it would be a good time to consider what's going to be next to each other.

Also, if you have a particular combo that you don't like, you might mention that too, so I don't make the same mistake.

Thanks!

Deanna

Comments (12)

  • blackswamp_girl
    17 years ago

    I had one in a part sun area next to dwarf Siberian irises and I loved that foliage combination--the upright iris foliage was a great foil to the rounded heuchera leaves. I have another one near a pennisetum, and that was pretty nice, too. Carexes would give you the grassy look with a little more shade tolerance.

  • jan44
    17 years ago

    I like astilbe with my heucheras, although they don't last very long and need plenty of moisture. "Fanal" is a nice deep red one with darker foliage. My favorite is probably Purple Ruffles or Palace Purple and Sun Power Hostas together. The frostier colored ones look nice with gray/white foliage plants. I also like Snow-In-Summer next to Dale's Strain Heuchera.

  • laurelin
    17 years ago

    The only heuchera I have is 'Palace Purple.' It's planted on the shady side of a narrow border, backed by the TB irises 'Superstition' and 'Liaison' (both purple/purple and white), and the clematis 'Henryi' climbing the pole light behind them. There's also a sedum 'Autumn Joy' on the front (full sun side) that bed, and also two shorter daylilies (in part sun) (a creamy stippled pink, 'Jazz Band', and an unnamed cream with a small wine eye). So, the heuchera is shaded by the taller plants, but tied in by the purple/rose/white color scheme of that small bed.

    Laurel

  • leslie197
    17 years ago

    The purplish and/or silvery heucheras look nice with the bluish lungworts such as Pulmonaria Excalibur or May Bouquet. They also match well with Japanese Painted Fern. The lime-colored heucheras look well wherever you can use a spot of bright foliage contrast. Mine are tucked around the base of my many clematis vines, providing root shade for the clemmies and a nice pop of color against the dark green vines.

    The amber colored ones look nice with yellow edged hostas, my favorite combo being Heuchera Marmalade with the apple green (with warm cream-yellow edges) of Hosta Fragrant Bouquet. This combo definitely needs quite a bit of shade to keep the colors of the hostas from bleaching out. Another great hosta to use with amber heucheras is the upright vase shaped Hosta Regal Splendor. This is a big fast growing hosta with a "regal" presence in any garden.

    Other somewhat taller plants that work well with heucheras are Astrantias & Aquilegias (columbines), both of which have nice flowers as well - small bractish buttons of deep reds to whitish pinks for the Astrantias and many spurred and spurless blooms in many colors for the columbines. In my garden these both bloom in spring but at slightly different times, the columbines first, then followed by the astrantias. I use both A. Hadspen Blood & A. Ruby Wedding, both nice reddish ones, along with an unknown white (seedlings)& the double Nora Barlow columbine with my purplish heucheras.

    Toad lilies (tricyrtis) with their tallish arching stems and late fall flowers also combine well with heucheras.

  • kwoods
    17 years ago

    Ditto tricyrtis
    Ditto astilbe (I use a white called snowdrift the "glows" in the shade)
    Ditto various varieties (color and size) hosta

    Spiderwort (tradescantia) or merrybells ((uvularia)if the yellow works). I also use foam flower (tiarella) around and in front and ostrich fern as a backdrop/foil.

  • bindersbee
    17 years ago

    What about Plumbago next to your Peach Flambe'? It gets a bit of a reddish color to the foliage in fall and perhaps the blue flowers would look nice next to the peachy orange? It also has small leaves and is a bit sprawling so it should sort of work around the heuchera.

    For the Violet Frost I'm imagining some golden creeping jenny or perhaps the gold prostrate veronica (whose name presently escapes me).

    For a more equal-sized plant, consider Centaurea 'Gold Bullion'. Gold foliage with pretty blue almost daisy shaped flowers. If you have a little more shady situation, maybe Corydalis 'Berry Exciting' or 'Blue Heron'?

    A yellow varigated Iris would give you spikes of gold and green foliage to make a sharp contrast with the rounded form of Heuchera. Or, if it's hardy in your zone, one of those cool blackish or varigated New Zealand Flax plants. Not hardy for me so I don't know the botanical name.

  • bindersbee
    17 years ago

    Oh! And Lamium! Lots of great foliage colors and a good, low sprawing habit which would fill in around the heucheras well.

  • Monique z6a CT
    17 years ago

    Heuchera 'Frosted Violet' with Polemonium 'Stairway to Heaven' and Hellebores:
    {{gwi:150344}}

    with Geranium sanguineum var. striatum and Clematis 'Pink Fantasy'
    {{gwi:195642}}

    with Euphorbia 'First Blush'
    {{gwi:150342}}

    Heuchera ? with Japanese painted fern 'Burgundy Lace'(I'm still waiting for this combo to mature)
    {{gwi:195644}}

  • gardenfanatic2003
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Lots of great ideas! Thank you! I'll print this out in a month or so, after everyone gets their 2 cents worth in. Loving it!

    Deanna

  • blackswamp_girl
    17 years ago

    Monique's picture reminded me... I enjoyed my 'Regina' heuchera with artemisia (the part shade kept it in check,) geranium phaeum 'Samobor' and also an upright, vase-shaped, unnamed bluish hosta.

    I think that peach flambe would look great with some bronze fennel planted nearby, too.

  • hoyess
    17 years ago

    I have a mass of Frosted Violet planted in front of three Endless Summer Hydrangea (turned pink), on the opposite side the same frosted violet is planted under Henry Sweetspire and mixed with Echinacea Little Giant.

    I have a marmalade planted with some peonies and boxwoods. The contrast with the boxwoods is really cool. I also have some planted near Hemerocallis Pardon Me.

    I have Heucherella (does this count?) Kimono planted with Japanese Blood Grass.

    I also have many planted around irises, I too like to foliage contrast I have iris Ringo planted with Marmalade (OK its my favourite) and it really picks up the pinky tones.

    I also have obsidian alongside concorde grape barberry underplanted with mauve geraniums (don't know the variety). Again I like the foliage contrast kind of like the boxwood.

  • entling
    17 years ago

    Heuchera "Rasberry Ice" with Helleborus "Red Mountain." The hellebore flowers and stems are the same color as the huechera foliage. I have H. "Lime Rickey" next to Aquilegia "Leprechaun Gold," a chartruese and green variegated with dark purple flowers. My old "Palace Purple" is becoming surrounded by pink flowered Anemonella thalictroides. Its emerging foliage is purple.

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