Heuchera Primo® 'Peachberry Ice'

Heuchera Primo® 'Peachberry Ice': Peach Sorbet Leaves, Frosted in Silver

'Peachberry Ice' looks like a peach smoothie with a pink straw and a sugared rim. Big, ruffled apricot-orange leaves with a silver overlay and bright pink undersides. BRAIN FREEZE, BUT MAKE IT FOLIAGE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Heuchera hybrid
• Common Name: Coral Bells
• Series: Primo®, a Proven Winners® perennial
• Height: 20–25 cm (8–10 in) in leaf; flower stems reach 61–76 cm (24–30 in)
• Spread: 76–86 cm (30–34 in)
• Flowers: Creamy white bells with pale pink calyces on wine-coloured stems
• Bloom Time: Midsummer (July to August)
• Foliage: Large, ruffled apricot-orange leaves with a silver overlay and bright pink undersides. Colour softens in summer heat.
• Features: Salt tolerant, winter interest

Where to Plant: With a spread close to a metre, one plant fills a lot of space, so use it as a specimen, mass it as a shady groundcover, or set it in a large container. It tolerates salt, so it can go near a sidewalk or driveway.

Companion Plants: Use Primo® 'Peachberry Ice' in a moist, shady bed with crimson astilbe, orange ligularia and a striped hosta. Astilbe 'Fanal' adds deep crimson plumes at 60 cm in June and July. Hosta 'Party Streamers' brings narrow, streaked leaves at 30 cm. Ligularia 'Britt-Marie Crawford' adds dark leaves and golden-orange daisies at 90 to 120 cm in August and September. Carex 'Evergold' edges the bed with arching cream-striped blades at 30 to 45 cm.

Plant Care: Plant in humus-rich, well-drained soil with the crown at soil level. Give it plenty of room. Water regularly through the first season, then whenever the soil dries out. Heavy clay should be loosened with compost, since heuchera dislikes wet feet over winter. In early spring, trim off tattered leaves to make way for fresh growth. Cut spent flower stems back to the base. Divide in spring every three to four years if the crown becomes woody or lifts out of the soil.

History: Hans Hansen bred 'Peachberry Ice' at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, from a 2015 cross that used the Proven Winners® heuchera 'Paprika' as the pollen parent. It joined the Primo® collection, which Proven Winners uses for its larger-leaved, more robust coral bells.

Final Thoughts: Give it part shade and a few hours of sun, and it brings colour well into winter. Salt doesn't faze it. SLURP RESPONSIBLY.