Special Events

Flower Show Heuchera Fundraiser Sale  for the Georgia Perennial Plant Association The Georgia Perennial Plant Association is having a fundraiser sale of the nine Heuchera varieties featured in the 2010 Southeastern Flower Show exhibit. Information about the Heuchera and photos of the varieties being offered, along with ordering instructions and two payment options, are included below. Order Deadline – Friday, March 26, 2010 Plant Pickup – Tuesday, April 20, 2010 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm (before the GPPA meeting) at the Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Rd, Atlanta on the bottom level of the parking deck. If you can’t pick up your plants at the scheduled time please be sure to send someone … unclaimed plants become the property of GPPA. Ordering Instructions: Download the Order Form by clicking here.   Fill out the form completely and calculate the total payment due.   If paying with a credit card or a PayPal account, click on the PayPal button below and pay the total payment due from the Order Form and print your PayPal transaction confirmation, which will be e-mailed to you. (Note: Since you are entering the total payment due from your Order Form, the PayPal transaction will indicate a donation. Don't worry, this is your payment for the plants you are ordering!) Mail in the completed Order Form, along with a printed PayPal transaction confirmation, to the address shown on the Order Form.   If paying with a check, then mail in the Order Form with the check, to the address shown on the Order Form. Shades of Evergreen or Heucheras – Kaleidoscopic Gems for Gardeners Description Heucheras, commonly called coral bells or alumroot, are a group of perennial plants native to North America with foliage that grows in tight mounds and produces tiny bell shaped flowers on long flower stalks. In the last two decades breeders have produced heucheras with dazzling variations in leaf shape, variegation, and color. While many gardeners grow heucheras mainly for the foliage, the colorful flowers range from cream to pinks to reds, bloom from early spring into fall (depending on cultivar), and attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies to our gardens. These perennials are evergreen in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Foliage colors include shades of green, pink, gold, purple, silver, violet, red and every possible color combination in between. Many cultivars have color-change foliage that moves from spring’s bright colors to muted tones as fall and winter approach. Other varieties have intense foliage veining that gives a kaleidoscope or stained glass look. Leaf surfaces can be smooth, shiny, or fuzzy, have rounded or more angular shapes, and be completely ruffled to wavy to flat. Leaf undersides may exhibit very different coloring from the leaf top, adding to the kaleidoscopic effect. Heuchera villosa is a southeastern U.S. native and cultivars with villosa parentage perform better in our summer heat and humidity. Usually, H. villosa hybrids bloom later (early summer) with showier, more bottle-brush like cream-colored flowers. Mature plants are from 8 to 24 inches tall and 12 to 24 inches wide with flower stalks 12 to 36 inches high. Care In metro Atlanta heucheras need a part sun to part shade location, but no direct afternoon sun. In general the darker the foliage, the more sun the plant can take. The lighter the leaves, the more shade it prefers, but not complete shade. Dappled sunlight under pines and hardwoods is ideal. Soil should be fertile and must be well-drained, meaning our native clay needs to be amended with compost, chopped leaves, humus, or other organic matter, to a depth of 8-12 inches. (Metro Atlanta has experienced record rainfall extremes the last two years and well-drained soil is a must for plant survival in these conditions.) Heucheras, because of the fine, fibrous root system, do not like wet conditions, especially in winter. Once established, average to dry soil is preferable to overly moist soil. Frost heaving, where alternate freezing and thawing cycles push the plant out of the ground, may be a problem. This can be corrected by digging up the plant in early spring and replanting it deeper, so the stem will grow more roots. Alternately, add extra mulch and soil around the plant stem, which will grow new roots in the mulch. Uses Heucheras striking colors and leaf shapes lend them to multiple garden uses – in beds, in borders, in mass plantings, as specimen plants, as groundcovers, etc. Containers are an excellent way to showcase heucheras, either alone or in a mixed planting for year-round beauty. Heuchera Photos & Descriptions Please note that photo colors and color descriptions are approximations. Heucheras display varying colors throughout the year. Click on each image below for a larger photo and visit images.google.com for more photos. Beaujolais Burgundy leaves with a touch of silvering and deeper purple veins. Caramel Yellow-orange foliage, rose-violet undersides. Citronelle Neon-bright chartreuse. Encore Leaves emerge deep rose purple with silvering, darker veins, and reddish-purple undersides. Miracle Chartreuse leaves spotted red wine, change to deep red, edges retain greenish-gold tone. Mocha Rich purple deepens to brown-black in summer. Pinot Gris Ginger leaves with silver overlay; mature leaves smoky rose with silver overlay and purple undersides. Tiramisu Chartreuse foliage with deep plum red veining. Blackcurrant Deep purple leaves with silver accents.