Heuchera 'Plum Pudding'

Heuchera 'Plum Pudding': Plum Purple with a Silver Shimmer

'Plum Pudding' is dessert you can't overeat. Plum-purple leaves with a metallic sheen and faint silver marbling, right at home in a shady bed. THE DEER AREN'T GETTING ANY UNTIL THEY FINISH THEIR VEGETABLES.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Heuchera hybrid
• Common Name: Coral Bells
• Height: 20–25 cm (8–10 in) in leaf; flower stems reach about 55 cm (22 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Small creamy white bells on purple stems
• Bloom Time: Early to midsummer (June to July)
• Foliage: Lobed, plum-purple leaves with a metallic sheen, faint silver marbling and darker veins. Evergreen in mild winters.

Where to Plant: It's a workhorse for the front of a shady border, woodland edges and containers. A group of three makes a neat dark carpet under shrubs.

Companion Plants: Astilbe 'Heart and Soul' rises behind the plum coral bells with pink plumes from July to September. Brunnera 'Jack of Diamonds' adds blue spring flowers in April and May. Asarum europaeum spreads at the front as a low, glossy groundcover. These grow well in shade or part shade.

Plant Care: Plant in moist, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Keep the crown at soil level. Wet winter soil is the main threat, so improve heavy clay with compost before planting. For the best leaf colour, keep it out of hot afternoon sun. Water regularly in the first season and during dry spells after that. Remove spent flower stems after bloom. In early spring, trim off leaves that look worn from winter. Divide in spring every three or four years, replanting any crowns that have lifted.

History: 'Plum Pudding' is a Terra Nova Nurseries introduction from Oregon, one of the purple-leaved heuchera that helped make coral bells popular as foliage plants. The genus Heuchera is native to North America and honours the 18th-century German botanist Johann Heinrich von Heucher.

Final Thoughts: Plant it where you'll see it from the kitchen window. It looks festive all season. SECONDS ARE ENCOURAGED.