Heuchera FOREVER® 'Purple'

Heuchera FOREVER® 'Purple': Deep Purple, Start to Finish

Some purples fade the minute summer gets serious. 'Purple' shrugs off the heat and humidity and stays glossy, fluted and deeply purple all season. THE MOST LOYAL RELATIONSHIP YOU'LL HAVE THIS YEAR.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Heuchera hybrid ('Forever Purple', also listed as 'TNHEUFP')
• Common Name: Coral Bells
• Series: FOREVER®, from Terra Nova Nurseries
• Height: 25–30 cm (10–12 in)
• Spread: 45–55 cm (18–22 in)
• Flowers: Small purple-pink bells on short spikes
• Bloom Time: Mid to late summer (July to August)
• Foliage: Glossy, deep purple with fluted edges, holding colour all season
• Features: Season-long leaf colour, heat and humidity tolerant
• Plant Patent: USPP 26,358

Where to Plant: Use it to edge a shady border, fill a container, or repeat it in drifts under trees for a bold, dark ribbon. It tolerates heat and humidity, so it holds up through muggy summers.

Companion Plants: Brunnera macrophylla adds blue spring flowers in April and May beside the purple coral bells. Rodgersia aesculifolia brings bold leaves and cream flowers in June and July at 90 to 120 cm. Tricyrtis hirta adds white flowers in August and September, so the bed finishes strong. These all suit shade and part shade.

Plant Care: Plant in moist, well-drained soil improved with compost. Keep the crown at soil level and avoid low spots where water sits, especially in heavy clay. Water through the first season and during droughts. Remove spent flower stems at the base. In early spring, clean up any leaves that look tired after winter. A light fall mulch helps keep young plants from heaving. Divide every three or four years when the clump gets woody in the middle.

History: Janet Egger bred 'Forever Purple' at Terra Nova Nurseries in Canby, Oregon, from a controlled cross between two unnamed seedlings, aiming for purple foliage that held its colour all year along with good heat and humidity tolerance. It is protected by U.S. plant patent 26,358, and it later produced a sport that became FOREVER® 'Midnight'.

Final Thoughts: Plant it, forget about it and come back to the same colour every time. Deer won't interfere. NO GHOSTING. EVER.