Heuchera 'Fire Chief'

Heuchera 'Fire Chief': Wine-Red Mounds, Hummingbirds on Call

Every fire needs a 'Fire Chief', and this one runs the shade. Lightly ruffled wine-red leaves that only get darker, with white bells on dark stems. TAKES COMMAND. TAKES NO NONSENSE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Heuchera hybrid
• Common Name: Coral Bells
• Height: 23–30 cm (9–12 in) in leaf; flower stems to about 45 cm (18 in)
• Spread: 38–40 cm (15–16 in)
• Flowers: Small bells, white with pink to red-purple backs, on dark stems
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Wine-red to burgundy, lightly ruffled, darkening with age
• Features: Long bloom season
• Plant Patent: USPP 21,880

Where to Plant: Use it to edge a shady border, fill gaps under shrubs, or anchor a container. Because it blooms for so long, it's also a good pick for a small hummingbird corner.

Companion Plants: Uvularia grandiflora opens the season with yellow bells in April and May. Ligularia 'Britt-Marie Crawford' rises 90 to 120 cm behind the coral bells with orange flowers in August and September. Pulmonaria 'Pink-a-Blue' adds bicolour flowers in May and June at 41 to 46 cm. This group is happy in shade or part shade.

Plant Care: Plant in moist, well-drained soil enriched with compost, with the crown sitting at soil level. Avoid spots where water pools, especially in clay. Water through the first summer and in dry spells after that. Remove spent flower stems to keep new ones coming. Tidy any winter-damaged leaves in early spring. In the first winter, a light mulch helps prevent frost from heaving the crown. Divide every three or four years when the centre starts to get woody.

History: Janet Egger bred 'Fire Chief' at Terra Nova Nurseries in Canby, Oregon, from a planned cross between two of the nursery's unreleased hybrids, and its U.S. plant patent was issued in 2011. The genus Heuchera is native to North America and honours the German physician and botanist Johann Heinrich von Heucher.

Final Thoughts: Plant a crew of three and let the hummingbirds answer the call. Deer stay off the scene. THE CHIEF ALWAYS SHOWS UP.