Heuchera 'Lemon Supreme'

Heuchera 'Lemon Supreme': Pure Lemon Glow Under the Trees

'Lemon Supreme' turns the shade garden into a lemon bar. Bright yellow leaves in spring, mellowing to lime-green by summer, slightly curled at the edges. ZEST LEVEL: MAXIMUM.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Heuchera hybrid, cultivar code 'TNHEULS'
• Common Name: Coral Bells
• Height: 15–20 cm (6–8 in) in leaf; flower stems reach about 40 cm (16 in)
• Spread: 35–45 cm (14–18 in)
• Flowers: Tiny white bells in airy sprays
• Bloom Time: Early to late summer (June to August)
• Foliage: Bright yellow in spring, turning lime-green in summer. Leaves are slightly curled. Evergreen in mild winters.

Where to Plant: Plant it where you need a glow: under trees, along a shady walk, or at the front of a north-side bed. It also brightens up shady containers.

Companion Plants: Use 'Lemon Supreme' to brighten a moist, shady bed with crimson epimedium and dark bugbane. Epimedium × rubrum opens crimson and cream flowers at 20 to 30 cm in April and May. Hosta 'Komodo Dragon' adds big, glossy dark green leaves at 70 to 75 cm. Cimicifuga 'Chocoholic' rises behind at 90 to 120 cm with dark leaves and mauve-pink spikes from August to October. Carex 'Evergold' edges the bed with arching cream-striped blades at 30 to 45 cm.

Plant Care: Give it moist, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Set the crown at soil level. Avoid spots where water sits in spring, and loosen clay with compost before planting. Morning sun brings out the yellow. In a hot site, shade it from afternoon sun so the leaves don't scorch. Water through dry spells, especially in the first year. Remove spent flower stems after bloom and tidy winter-worn leaves in early spring. Divide every three or four years, or when the crown starts lifting out of the soil.

History: Janet Egger bred 'Lemon Supreme' at Terra Nova Nurseries in Oregon from a cross of two unreleased Terra Nova seedlings; its cultivar name is 'TNHEULS'. Heuchera is a North American genus named for the 18th-century German botanist Johann Heinrich von Heucher.

Final Thoughts: Plant it next to dark-leaved friends and let it do the brightening. Deer won't take a bite. PUCKER UP, SHADE GARDEN.