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rouge21_gw

I love it, so I bought (too) many Solar Eclipse

I am not a big heuchera fan by any stretch but this 'Solar Eclipse' has such a unique colour. Here is the first one I planted in July. And after its impressive showing I went out yesterday and bought 4 more to be part of a border. My only concern with this planting is that this location receives about 5 hours of sun. I did look on line and some sites show it as being able to do full sun. I have my fingers crossed that it can thrive in such an aspect.

Comments (17)

  • karin_mt
    11 years ago

    That's a beauty. Moreover, the overall garden setting you have there is a real win. Nice work!

    I just rescued a whole bunch of heuchera from a spot where willow tree roots seemed to be keeping them real small. I too put them in a spot that gets significant sun, so I am wondering the same thing.

    I suppose you could query the heuchera forum?

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks karin_mt.

    I did inquire similarly in that forum but it seems a bit slow over there.

  • vivian_2010 (IL Zone 5a)
    11 years ago

    Rouge, You border is so nice. Love that Solar Eclipse. I am not a big fan of Heucherella but this one caught my eye back in June. So I planted one at a location with most of afternoon sun starting from 1 pm. So pretty touch spot for hostas and heucheras. But SE did fine with this year's record temp and drought here. The center color just slightly faded a little bit but not even noticeable. So this one is definitely a keeper. I am planning to do some re-arrangement of my border and plant a couple more.

    Another Heuchera that did very well with almost full sun location here is Obsidian. Beautiful dark purple shining color (if you like dark purple). So I have several of them as well.
    Best of luck,
    Vivian

  • terrene
    11 years ago

    Pretty foliage. Is it a Heuchera or Heucherella?

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    My mistake terrene as it is a heucherella.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Solar Eclipse

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Vivian thank you for posting your experience with this plant as it is exactly what I wanted to hear. Btw, in which hardiness zone are you located?

  • mistascott
    11 years ago

    Is that a Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' slightly behind it? If that is doing fine, the Heucherella should too.

  • mistascott
    11 years ago

    Oh nevermind, this is a new location I assume. Five hours seems to be a bit much, but if some of that is morning sun, it should be okay. If it is entirely afternoon sun, I would worry somewhat, but it looks like you are fairly far north so your sun might not be strong enough to spell doom and despair.

  • vivian_2010 (IL Zone 5a)
    11 years ago

    I am in zone 5a (Chicago area) but summer gets really hot and dry here. I have some shaded area in the back yard facing north. But rabbits really like the heucheras so I now plant all heucheras and siblings in the front yard, which facing south. So full sun and hot afternoon sun tolerance for hostas and heucheras is a must for me. So I shop around and experiment.
    Best of luck,
    Vivian

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    You are right mistacott i.e. the new location with the new border in basically full sun is not shown.

    Bur 'vivian's' success with this same heucherella in a similar aspect gives me reasonable hope that it will still thrive.

    (And yes the one pictured above is near an "All Gold")

  • mistascott
    11 years ago

    The 'All Gold' looks great, by the way. Not trying to hijack the thread, but I have noticed that the leaves do not stay as yellow/chartreuse as I would like. I suspect it might be because it doesn't get enough sun, but would be curious for your thoughts.

    I think the best thing to do is try the heucherellas in full sun and see how they do. If you give them enough moisture during the summer, they might do fine. Sometimes, exposure recommendations are based on anticipated lack of moisture that tends to accompany full sun exposure, not sunlight intensity per se. If they start to decline or fry in the sun, you should have plenty of time to move them before they croak. Good luck!

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    UPDATE:

    It is kind of neat to see the change in foliage colour from spring (below) until maturity (as seen previously above in the first post September 2012).

    This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, May 28, 13 at 19:11

  • boday
    10 years ago

    Okay, I have S/E as well and they survived nicely. Took me a while to figure out what they were this spring. As in, where are my plants?

    By the way, gorgeous 'Green Sheen'. Didn't work for me

    Another that I would recommend is Redstone Falls. It's a spreader and very, very nice.

  • funnthsun z7A - Southern VA
    10 years ago

    This is interesting and very relevant for me right now. I just did a ton on research on heucheras, etc. in full sun and in NC we don't play around, when we say full sun, we really mean it! :) What I found is that the darker heucheras/ellas do better than the lighter and if they are from the villosa (hoping I am remembering that name correctly) lineage, then all the better for heat tolerance. I put in two Obsidians and two Amethyst falls. They are getting full sun from 10 until 4 pm. I read several people saying that they had great success in and around this area or even farther south with these two in full sun. I think Solar Eclipse would do fine in your full sun, definately. I know this thread was from last year, but you still haven't gone through a summer yet, I'm thinking.

    I love the online pics of solar eclipse, but haven't purchased it b/c every time I see one locally, they are so faded/washed out and ugly, I just leave them there. I am afraid they would look like that for me all the time, just my luck! I did pick up a Redstone Falls this year, though. It is lovely.

  • Patty W. zone 5a Illinois
    10 years ago

    A beautiful garden with Solar Eclipse in it. A nice relaxing feeling when looking at the picture.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    You are right 'funn' i.e. this will be the first summer of these two being in full sun.

    (The picture below shows 2 SE alternating with 3 Campanula "Freya" (along the front very sunny edge))

    This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, May 28, 13 at 18:01

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks 'Patty'. The original picture I think you are referring to is part of a very small quite narrow garden plot. I think it is maybe 18" wide by about 12 feet. And yet I really love this area of our property. It really is possible to make an appealing selection and grouping of plants in a surprisingly small area.

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