Heuchera Species and Hybridizing History

Heuchera wasn't always the garden rock star we know today. For almost 100 years, selections were simple green foliage with variable amounts of silver veil, possibly with small but nicely colored flowers. The flowers tended to be on quite tall stems (a trait that I like, but isn't always what you want in a design!) and short-lived.

Heucheras these days come in a various shades of green, silver, burgundy, purple, red, orange, yellow, and nearly any combination of these colors. Flowers can be a range of colors including green, white, pink, and red. Flower stems now tend to be shorter, more in proportion to the foliage, and can be long lasting or even rebloom all season. Heuchera breeders have mostly concentrated on using just 5 species. Knowing which species are used in a variety's background will help you know it's tolerances.

H. americana 'Marvelous Marble'

H. americana is a hardy woodland species.  It likes a humus rich soil and some afternoon shade and is heat and cold tolerant. Foliage ranges solid green to green with silver veil and burgundy veins. I find that hybrids with a lot of influence from this species (and others in the same subsection) do best here in the upper midwest. Zones 3-9

It should be noted that we understand Heuchera very differently now compared to the 17th century when they were introduced to horticulture. Six species were lumped under the name H. americana at the time and are likely in the background of many early cultivars. These species consist of H. americana, H. caroliniana, H. pubescens, H. alba, H. longiflora, and 

H. longiflora

H. richardsonii

H. richardsonii

H. villosa 'Autumn Bride'

H. villosa is another woodland species, it also likes a rich soil.  It is very heat and humidity tolerant and seems to tolerate clay soils fairly well. Foliage tends to be somewhat fuzzy (villose) and is green. There is also a naturally occurring burgundy form, H. villosa f. purpurea Zones 4-9.

H. micrantha is a western species and prefers good drainage.  However it is also tolerant to moist soils during the growing season. Green foliage with somewhat ruffled margins. Zones 5-9, possibly colder.

H. cylindrica is a western species tolerant to harsh winds and temperature extremes, it tends to be a crevice dweller. Flowers are tightly packed on the stems.  Zones 3-8.

H. micrantha

H. cylindrica var. glabella

H. cylindrica var. glabella

H. sanguinea is a south-western species that is extremely heat and drought tolerant. Foliage ranges from green to green with silver veil. This is where great flower colors comes from as well.  Despite its southwestern heritage it is very hardy, but requires excellent drainage to grow successfully in wet climates. Zones 3-9.

H. 'Coral Cloud' from Alan Bloom

Hybridizing Heuchera first began in the very late 1800s. Victor and Emile Lemoine introduced the first hybrid, 'Brizoides' (H. sanguinea x H. americana var. hispida f. purpurea), in 1897 and then 'Gracillima' ('Brizoides' x H. micrantha) in 1900. Many more were introduced by Lemoine et Fils over the next 20 years. George Arends (known for Astilbe hybrids, the Arendsii group) introduced 'Rosamonde' ('Gracillima' x H. micrantha 'Rosea') in 1903. These 3 represent the oldest and most popular varieties of the time and can still be found in collections to this day. 

Alan Bloom started trialing and breeding Heuchera in the 1930s and continued this passion into the 1990s. He introduced many selections originating from 'Brizoides', 'Gracillima', and others that can still be found on the market today. 

H. 'Canyon Duet'

While most breeders concentrated on the five species I talk about above, Dara Emery of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden went a completely different direction. He used various California native species, such as H. elegans, H. meriamii, and H. hirsuitissima, crossed to H. sanguinea to create a group of lovely compact cultivars that are suitable for rock gardens. 'Canyon Duet' is the most readily available of them and has proven surprisingly hardy. 

Edgar Wherry collected seed that went on to become the selection 'Palace Purple'. This plant is largely sold as H. micrantha 'Palace Purple', but that is incorrect. Wherry never collected within the range of H.micrantha and no purple form of that species has ever been discovered. It's actually a superior form of H. villosa f. purpurea. Sadly, it has mostly been seed propagated and you can get inferior forms pretty easily. 

One of the most important hybrids to ever come about is 'Montrose Ruby' from Nancy Goodwin in 1990. It's a hybrid of H. americana 'Dale's Strain' and H. villosa f. purpurea 'Palace Purple'. 'Montrose Ruby' is the foundation plant for several modern hybridizing programs and most of today's cultivars can trace their lineage back to this plant! It's the basis of Charles Oliver's great selections, originally crossed to his 'White Marble' (which is H. pubescens x H. sanguinea 'White Cloud'). Oliver also worked with H. hallii and H. pulchella to produce garden worthy compact plants like 'Petite Pearl Fairy'. 

H. 'Georgia Peach' from Terra Nova

'Montrose Ruby' is also in the background of Terra Nova's program, crossed to H. sanguinea as well as backcrossed to H. americana. Later, they would use H. cylindrica, H. micrantha, and H. villosa; as well as recently using H. richardsonii. Terra Nova has been responsible for the bulk of modern Heuchera hybridizing and lots of innovation in the genus. I would say their most important variety is 'Amber Waves'. It was the first amber-colored Heuchera to be made available and its genes are responsible for broadening the color range to include orange, yellow, and true red. They've done really great work with plants for very colorful foliage as well as great flowers. One of the best varieties ever introduced for flowers is 'Paris', from their "city series". Maybe my favorite plant of theirs is 'Georgia Peach' which goes through seasonal color changes and has proven reliable across a wide range of the US. Some of their varieties can struggle in the upper midwest. This is most likely a result of the selection pressures in Oregon being very different from the climate here and may also involve some of the different genetics they've used. Making sure you have good drainage goes a long way to ensuring success; I find that most do well here provided drainage. 

H. 'Caramel'

Thierry Delabroye has done a lot of work with hybrids involving bringing H. villosa to the forefront of hybridization. 'Caramel' is his most popular cultivar and is a nice rich amber that is fairly reliable here in the upper midwest. He's also breeding a really nice line of larger cultivars, 'Mega-Caramel' being a larger version of 'Caramel'. 

H. 'Pink Panther' from Walter's Gardens Inc.

Walter's Gardens in Michigan has recently been breeding some real knockout cultivars that are performing well in the upper midwest. They've introduced several really nice purple varieties with improved vigor and size as well as some great plants with long-lasting flowers. Many of their varieties are part of the Proven Winners brand as well, as Walter's is the breeder and marketer of their perennial line. 

H. 'Carnival Watermelon' from Ball Hort.

Another series of plants I should mention is the Carnival series from Ball Horticulture. These are widely available mass market plants that can be found affordably at box stores. They seem to be performing fairly well in the midwest, which isn't surprising since they're bred and selected in Illinois. The standouts are 'Carnival Watermelon' and 'Carnival Peach Parfait'. Other than that, I'm not too excited by the series. Most of the varieties resemble plants that were released from hybridization efforts in the 90s and I don't find them to be improvements in any way. This isn't to say they are bad plants; I'd happily sub 'Carnival Peach Parfait' or 'Carnival Watermelon' for 'Georgia Peach' or 'Carnival Plum Crazy' for 'Plum Pudding' in design work if there was a significant price or availability difference. This applies to most of the series as well. If you're a landscaper or home gardener looking to do a mass planting without breaking the bank, this series is a good option. If you're a plant collector looking for novel plants, probably best to skip most of these as there are more unique plants out there. 

I'll go into more detail about specific varieties and how they've performed for me in an upcoming post, so stay tuned!

Growing Heuchera

It's been ten years since I originally wrote about Heuchera, and an update has been a long time coming. I'm scrapping my old posts and updating them with some slight revision for clarity. This post is going to be on just general culture and species, I'll post more about hybrids and history at a later time. 

Heuchera 'Caramel' with Hostas 'Stained Glass' and 'Fire Island' and Lamium 'Purple Dragon'

Nearly everyone (including me) mispronounces Heuchera; proper pronunciation is HOY-ker-uh. I've been pronouncing it WHO-ker-uh for 25 years, and it's hard to change! The genus is exclusively American in origin, with around 37 species in the United States and Canada and another 5 found exclusively in Mexico. 

Heuchera species fall into two basic categories. The mountain dwelling species are suitable for the rock garden and well drained soils. They tend to be heat tolerant and are more sun tolerant, but still appreciate some afternoon shade as they tend to grow in the shadows of boulders or scrub. The woodland dwellers are more suitable for shade gardens. They want soils that are consistently moist but well drained with adequate organic matter. They tend to be found on woodland edges, savannahs, or grasslands. Montane species are more heavily represented in the west and woodland species more so in the east; but both groups exist across their range. Regardless of montane or woodland, all species tend to be found in rocky, well-drained locations. 

In general, loose well-drained soil is important. Few varieties will last long in heavy or compacted soils.  Most varieties appreciate morning sun, with bright shade in the afternoon. Provided those 2 conditions, most varieties will do well. A little research will help determine which varieties will truly thrive in your location. Knowing where and when they were hybridized is also useful. Here in the Midwest, I find cultivars bred on the west coast are less likely to thrive compared to cultivars bred in the Midwest or Northeast. 

Spring Color

I've finally had a chance to get out and take some pictures of the spring color in my gardens over the last week or so.  Everything is definitely behind this year, due to our very cold temps.  We've had a few warm days now and the plants are responding to warmth very quickly, doubling in size in a a matter of days.

Cornus sericea unnamed gold mutation

 First up is a neat shrub I found a number of years ago.  It's a red twig dogwood that provides a bright spot of gold in the spring then changes green through the season.  All other traits seem normal, growth has been fast I will guess it will hit 8' tall and wide.  There are other gold-leaf selections out there that are similar, I don't know that I'll name it or introduce it for sale.  I am growing some seed from it in hopes for a variety that stays gold all season.


Arabis sturrii

  Arabis sturrii is a great spring bloomer that forms  low cushions.  White flowers in May followed by green glossy foliage the rest of the season.  It's a good nectar plant for early season butterflies and moths.


Corydalis 'Blackberry Wine'

  Corydalis are in bloom now.  C. cheilanthifolia is now finished and 'Blackberry Wine' is getting started.  These are great plants for spring color and seasonal texture.  They like partial shade and good drainage.  'Blackberry Wine' will bloom sporadically through the season.








Epimedium 'Fire Dragon'


 Epimediums are in full bloom for me now.  They've been gaining in popularity in the past few years.  One of my favorites is 'Fire Dragon' which has fairly large (for an Epimedium) flowers that last much longer than others in my garden.  'Amber Queen' is fairly similar, I'm not sure how long the blooms will last.  'Lilafee' is a nice purple flowering variety is petite.  'Niveum' is a great white variety.  These are all easy to grow in shade to partial shade and are tolerant of dry soil. 
 


 

Epimedium 'Niveum'

Epimedium 'Lilafee'



 

Hepatica acutiloba is an underused woodland plant that does great in a shade garden.  Flowers range in color and can be white, pink, or blue.  They put on a good show of small flowers in spring, then the glossy foliage looks great all season. 

 The various Heuchera, xHeucherella, and Tiarella are looking great now, 'Southern Comfort' and 'Fire Chief' are looking great.  All of the new ones I planted have returned beautifully.  Tiarella 'Cascade Creeper' is coming up well, this is one of my new favorites.  There are some great new varieties this year that I can't wait to get planted: Heuchera: 'Apple Crisp', 'Pear Crisp', & 'Electric Lime'.  xHeucherella 'Redstone Falls', 'Yellowstone Falls', & 'Solar Eclipse'. 

 Iris lutescens var. campelli is a diminutive species of bearded iris with light purple standards and slightly darker falls.  I've struggled with this one for awhile, but I've finally found a spot where it seems happy.  I have other dwarf bearded hybrids in bloom as well, and they are always among my favorite spring bloomers.  If you don't have any dwarf iris, pick some up.

 Mertensia virginica alba.  I picked up a white form of Virginia bluebells last year, and it's in bloom now.  I probably should move it to a spot more suitable to its spreading nature.

Hostas are an obsession of mine (I have over 300 varieties) and the gold varieties are always my favorite as they come up.  'Dawn's Early Light' and 'Nancy' are especially bright.  Both look great all season as well.  'Dawn's Early Light' changes to bright green/chartreuse but has pebbled round leaves and a great mound habit.  'Nancy' stays a fairly bright chartreuse and has a good form.



'Dawn's Early Light'



'Nancy'

Heuchera With Yellow and Orange Tones

I'm finally getting around to finishing up the Heuchera posts.  (for now)  We finally get to the plants that started Heuchera's rise to stardom.  It all started back in 2002ish with a sport of 'Whirlwind' called 'Amber Waves'.  (I don't remember the first year it was available- The Heims/Ware book gives it the year 2000 but that seems early to me- the patent was granted in 2002)  This amber colored beauty with ruffled and lobed foliage and nice pink flowers wasn't an immediate sellout the first year, but as word spread it moved well.  The second year, it sold out quite quickly.  The 3rd year it continued with strong sales, but there were complaints about it not being hardy.  I of course had planted one the first year.  It was perfectly hardy, however there indeed were problems.  For one it frost-heaved out of the ground every winter for 3 years regardless of how well I winter mulched.  It didn't bulk up in my garden well, staying only about 8" across the whole time it was planted.  I pulled it out, literally- I grabbed the plant and it popped out roots and all, in 2006 (long after we dropped this from our lineup).  I think the foliage texture is unmatched by any other amber Heuchera, but its poor garden performance really knocks this one down on the desirability scale.  Micrantha and americana are in the background, and as this is the source of all other amber and chartreuse varieties, they also have them in the background.

Improvements happen, and in the world of Heuchera they can happen quickly.  2004 brought 'Marmalade', a more vigorous plant slightly darker amber foliage than 'Amber Waves'.  This one was a much better grower, though I still had problems with it losing vigor after a couple of years.  Still, with the right site and soil conditions this one can prosper.

2004 also brought the first chartreuse Heuchera to market- 'Lime Rickey'.  This plant had nice vigor and small leaves on a dense clump.  This thing looks like a head of lettuce (in a good way).  Bright chartreuse foliage in spring turning to lime green in summer.  White flowers are nice enough, but not exciting.  I had fewer vigor issues with this one. 

2005 brought 'Creme Brulee' to the Proven Winners line, and this one was (to me) the best so far.  It had good texture and a compact form.  The flowers weren't very exciting, but who's looking at them anyway at this point- we still haven't recovered from seeing an orange heuchera!  Another breakthrough was that this one tolerated sun.  Lots of it if it didn't dry out.  We included this in our full sun butterfly garden.  Still after a few years of growing it, we found that it has the same loss of vigor issues as 'Amber Waves' and 'Marmalade'.

I had been growing H. villosa 'Autumn Bride' for a few years at this point, and it was turning out to be a great performer in heavy soils and hot humid temperatures.  Many people growing this plant realized the breakthrough that was Heuchera 'Caramel' when it hit the market in 2005.  This H. villosa hybrid (probably with 'Amber Waves' as the other parent) came to us from France.  Finally an amber Heuchera that would perform!  My clump is now somewhere between 24 and 30 inches wide.  This one is also tolerant of full sun, and needs at least some sun to show its best color.  In shade it is a sickly yellowish color.  This has become my biggest selling variety to date, far exceeding 'Palace Purple'.  Bad economy or not we still sell nearly 100 of these every year.

'Caramel'

2006 brought even more- 'Peach Flambe', which is one of the best non-villosa hybrids.  Bright foliage on a strong clump with H. sanguinea background.  'Peach Melba' is another Proven Winners plant, this one with a silverish veil over the amber foliage.  'Key Lime Pie' is also from PW, and features chartreuse-lime foliage and nice pink flowers. 

From 2007 on I've lost track as so many have now come out.  Here's a list of more, years included where possible:


'Citronelle' hit in 2007ish and is a chartreuse mutation of 'Caramel'.  It isn't as strong a grower, but it still performs well.  'Georgia Peach' is a unique color of amber tones with some red and a silver overlay.  Villosa hybrid that grows well but isn't as dense as other varieties. 

'Christa' I haven't grown, but is another villosa hybrid similar to 'Caramel'.  Looks to have somewhat better color.

'Ginger Ale' 2008ish.  A nice ginger color to the foliage with a silver overlay and yellowish flowers.  Micrantha, americana, and cylindrica are in the background of this one.  Has performed fairly well.

'Ginger Peach' I haven't grown.  Out of 'Marmalade' breeding, 2010 intro.

'Lime Marmalade' is a chartreuse sport of 'Marmalade'. 

'Kassandra' is another amber villosa hybrid from France that I have not grown.  Foliage is more lobed and less rounded than 'Caramel.

'Tiramisu' & 'Miracle' showed a lot of promise for having chartreuse foliage with red veins.  Plants don't always meet the expectations of the hype and pictures however.  The red viens were only present in cool weather, so most of the summer they were chartreuse.  Muddy chartreuse in the case of 'Miracle'.  'Tiramisu' was a poor grower for me, and is currently the only villosa hybrid I've killed.  'Miracle' grew well enough, but I don't like the color and removed it. 

'Electra' came out in late 2009 and was widely available in 2010.  This one lived up to the promise of pictures and hype and is everything that 'Tiramisu' wasn't.  Red veins are present year round, with the exception of maybe spring as the new foliage fills out, at which point mine was eye-hurtingly bright chartreuse.  Villosa hybrid.

'Electra' in spring before the veins turn red.

'Electic Lime' is a chartreuse villosa hybrid that also came out in 2009.  This one is a villosa hybrid similar to 'Citronelle' but I believe it will be bigger in all aspects. 

'Southern Comfort' hit the market in 2009 and is villosa hybrid similar to 'Caramel' but has bigger leaves and will get taller.  It also has better color in the shade.  Turns burgundy in fall and winter.

'Tara' is a very lobed villosa hybrid with chartreuse foliage and some red tones in the center.  I have not grown this one, but like the looks of it.

'Midas Touch' was a 2010 release.  I saw it at some trade shows and like the look of it.  New growth is bright peach and matures to gold and finally the same ginger color as 'Ginger Ale'.

'Havana' excited me quite a bit as being the first chartreuse Heuchera with rose-red flowers.  The foliage has some silver overlay and can get some red veining in fall.  It was however quite a slow mover.  Also a bit of a slow grower and took quite a long time to bloom.  We'll see how it performs in the garden.  A 2010 introduction with micrantha, americana, sanguinea, and cylindrica in the background.


My sad 'Havana' in November.  I will be moving it to a better site in spring.

'Peach Crisp' is a 2010 intro with ruffled and lobed amber foliage.  Looks very good, full sun for best color.

'Pear Crisp' is new for 2011 and is the chartreuse counterpart to 'Peach Crisp'.  Like all chartreuse variaties, will probably scorch with too much sun.

I didn't get a lot of pictures for this post.  2 great online resources for images:
http://www.lucsperennialworld.com/heuchera/index.html
http://www.terranovanurseries.com/gardeners/heuchera-c-82_23.html

Burgundy, Red, and Purple Heuchera

The Heucheras that everyone is familiar with would be the various burgundy varieties.  They can lend fantastic color contrast or color echoes to the garden.  Many of them have some amount of sun tolerance.  This is where the bulk of hybridizing work has been done.  The variety of sizes, shapes, foliage color, flower color is unmatched in the genus.  You can find one for nearly any garden site except maybe hot, dry, baking sun. 

'Palace Purple' put coral bells on the map as a great garden plant.  It is tolerant of sun and shade.  While it prefers consistently moist well-drained soils and some afternoon shade like other Heuchera, I've seen it growing in dry clay in the sun.  It wasn't thriving, but it didn't seem to be suffering either.  An overall great performer and still worthy of garden space.  This variety was produced from seed for a long time, leading to color and performance inconsistency.  It was recently reselected and clonaly propagated as 'Palace Purple Select'.  also 'Absi' and 'Molly Bush' are clonal selections that are superior to seed forms as well.  This is often sold as a form of H. micrantha, however it is definitely a selection of H. villosa purpurea. 

'Swirling Fantasy' is a nice burgundy selection with some silver overlay.  It's been a great performer in my gardens reaching nearly 24" wide.  This variety features rosy pink flowers in profusion in June which are loved by hummingbirds.  Sanguinea and americana are definitely in the background. 

'Obsidian' is the reigning champion of darkness.  This is the "blackest" of the Heuchera varieties and is a good performer as well.  Some sun tolerance, I have not trialed it in the heat of the day though.  White flowers.  Micrantha, villosa, and americana are in the background.

'Blackout' is another good dark variety.  This one is more sensitive to sun, keep it in morning sun only.  I believe villosa is in the background, not sure what else is.

'Hollywood' is a great burgundy selection with some silver overlay to the foliage.  Great profusion of rose flowers.  It seems a little slower and smaller than 'Swirling Fantasy' so far.  It's also darker and has more silver on the foliage.Flower production from a small plant has been very good though.  Micrantha, cylindrica, americana according to Terra Nova.  Must have sanguinea somewhere as well for the flower color.

'Beaujolais' is one of my favorite burgundy villosa hybrids.  It has some silver overlay to the foliage indicating americana heritage and pinkish flowers indicating sanguinea in the background as well.  It's been a good performer, grows somewhat larger and looks great in mass plantings.  Sun and heat tolerant as well, but looks its best with morning sun and afternoon shade.  May fade, picture is from July on a plant with some afternoon sun.

'Mahogony' has been a great performer for me so far.  Fast growth and a dense mound does well in full sun.  White flowers are fairly nice. 

'Plum Royale' is a fantastic purple selection.  Purple is a fairly recent color breakthrough in Heuchera breeding, as most were some shade of burgundy before.  It has a good amount of silver overlay.  White flowers are fairly nice and in proportion to the mound size.  This one has the best color with some sun, but scorches with too much.  Morning sun until 11 or 12 seems to do best here.  Americana, micrantha, and sanguinea in the background.  One of my favorites.

'Shanghai' is another purple selection.  the foliage is more deeply cut than 'Plum Royale' and less glossy, but it has a similar color and silver overlay.  White flowers are more profuse than 'Plum Royale'.  Micrantha, americana, and sanguinea are in the background.  Turns more burgundy for fall and winter.  Another new favorite. 

'Fire Chief' has expanded the selection closer to red than before.  This variety has fairly nice pink and white flowers produced in proportion to the mound.  Somewhat compact and slow growing for me.  Micrantha, sanguinea, and villosa are in the background.  Darker burgundy for fall and winter.

'Autumn Leaves' is even more red than 'Fire Chief' and has an almost velvet-looking quality to the foliage.  The flowers are less attractive on this variety, I removed them.  Villosa and americana background, this is likely to be a great performer.  It has grown well for me so far.

There are many other great varieties that I don't have room to talk about.  Check out 'Milan', 'Rave On', 'Dark Secret', 'Chocolate Ruffles', 'Black Beauty', 'Root Beer', 'Cherry Cola', 'Purple Petticoats', 'Brownies', and  'Mocha'.

Green Heuchera

Heuchera 'Sashay'

Who wants a green Heuchera?  Well, I do for one.  While Heucheras are great for adding color to gardens, they also add foliage texture and contrast.  They also make great filler around accent plants where you might be looking for green space so you don't detract from a specimen plant.  Or in some cases, they might be the specimen plant, or they might echo color of the specimen plant. 



H. 'Bressingham Hybrids'

Heuchera 'Bressingham Hybrids' is a seed strain from the 'Brizoides' group with lots of variability.  In theory.  Usually the ones I see are green with pink or red flowers.  Mine is green with bright pink flowers, and identical to all of its siblings in the group I bought it from.  It's been a great performer, maxing out at 10" tall x 30" wide. 

H. villosa 'Autumn Bride' is a great variety for foliage texture.  It has huge fuzzy light green leaves, and is a fairly large plant.  Mine hit 18" tall x 30" wide, white flowers were easily to 24" but I usually break them off.  They're a little unruly for me.  This one has also self seeded for me in the past, but isn't a pest. 



Heuchera 'Sashay'

H. 'Sashay' is a great variety for texture.  It's a dense mound of ruffled foliage that stays fairly compact.  Mine is about 8" tall x 10" wide right now.  I expect eventually it will be 10" x 15".  Foliage is green on the top and burgundy beneath.  The undersides show at the margins where the leaf curls up.  This one is pretty distinct.  H. villosa and H. micrantha are in the background.

H. 'Malachite' is a new variety for 2011 that has a nice mid-green color and ruffled foliage.  I saw this at a trade show this summer, and I think it's quite nice.  Lots of potential for use as a container plant!

H. 'Apple Crisp' is another new one that's hitting the scene in 2011.  This one is even more dissected and ruffled than 'Sashay' or 'Malachite'.  This one is a nice grass-green with silver overlay.  Not sure of the background of this one, I would guess H. micrantha and H. americana.

Heuchera 'Green Spice'

H. 'Mint Frost' is a nice minty green variety with silver overlay.  This one picks up nice plum tones for the winter as well.  White flowers on 15" stalks.  This one has been a little slow growing, but is worth the wait for its nice foliage color.  H. americana is in the background.



H. 'Green Spice' is one of my favorites.  This fantastic beauty has green leaves with a silver overlay and red veins.  Great fall and winter color as well, generally red to burgundy for me, but may have orange as well.  Dense mound to 10" x 18" over time.  White flowers.  This one is a selection of H. americana.

 

Another selection of H. americana, 'Marvelous Marble' is a seed strain that is similar to 'Green Spice' but has far more red and less silver. 

This is a new one for 2011.



Heuchera 'Green Spice'

There are a number of other fantastic selections with green foliage, many with beautiful flowers: 'Dale's Strain', 'Paris', 'Chatterbox', 'Strawberry Candy', 'Lipstick', 'Mint Julep', 'Paris', 'Peppermint Spice' and more.  Many of these can't be beat for flower effect. 

Next time you see some green Heuchera for sale, take a closer look.  I'm sure there's a spot in the garden for at least one of these!