Heuchera 'Silver Scrolls'

Heuchera 'Silver Scrolls': Silver Scrollwork Inked in Purple

'Silver Scrolls' looks like somebody wrapped dark purple leaves in tinfoil and called it art. Pink-tinged flowers rise on beet-red stems above all that shine. HEAVY METAL FOR THE SHADE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Heuchera hybrid
• Common Name: Coral Bells
• Height: 20 cm (8 in) in leaf; flower stems reach up to 60 cm (24 in)
• Spread: 30–40 cm (12–16 in)
• Flowers: Small white bells tinged with pink, opening from pink buds on dark, beet-red stems
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (June to July)
• Foliage: Rounded leaves about 9 cm (3.5 in) across, heavily silvered over dark purple with dark veins; silver and burgundy in spring, silver and near-black later
• Features: Keeps its leaves well into winter

Where to Plant: Plant it along the front of a shady border, at the edge of a woodland path, or in a pot by a north-facing door. The tall, wispy flower stems add movement without hiding anything behind them, and it generally tolerates black walnut roots, which helps in older yards.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Silver Scrolls' in a moist, shady bed with maroon hellebores, a giant gold hosta and an evergreen fern. Helleborus HGC® Ice N' Roses® Bennotta opens maroon-red flowers at 30 to 40 cm from March to May. Polystichum acrostichoides adds leathery Christmas fern fronds at 30 to 60 cm. Hosta 'Sum and Substance' brings huge chartreuse-gold leaves at 90 cm. Liriope 'Monroe White' edges the front at 30 to 45 cm with white spikes in August and September.

Plant Care: Give it humus-rich, well-drained soil and set the crown at soil level. Heavy clay that stays wet over winter is the main thing to avoid, so work in compost first. Water through the first summer and during long dry spells after that. Cold winters with repeated thaws can heave young plants. A light mulch after the ground freezes helps, and any crowns that pop up in spring can be pressed back in. Tidy up winter-worn leaves in early spring. Every three or four years, when the centre turns woody, divide the clump in spring and replant the healthy pieces.

History: 'Silver Scrolls' came from a 1996 cross made by Charles Oliver at The Primrose Path, a small nursery in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, which also produced the silver-leaved 'Silver Maps' and 'Silver Lode'. It has been a dependable silver heuchera since its release around 2001.

Final Thoughts: Plant it where the shade needs a spotlight. It holds its leaves well into winter. STILL SHINING WHEN THE SNOW SHOWS UP.