Pam, Your beds are beautiful and you have an ideal setting for growing Heuchs. The woods that you live in protect the Heuchs from wind and sun. Your dense tree canopy also shelters them from fierce rainfalls so I can understand why the plugs work for you.

My beds are very deep and require a lot of walking through them to tend plants. The tiny plants always get trampled under foot. I do buy plugs of other types of plants and can transfer them into the beds in the first season, but not Heuchs.

I'm finding they like more sun then we've been lead to believe. The soil stays pretty moist here, but these guys are getting some nice afternoon sun and seem to like it.
These growing in some sun are doing way better than any I have grown in the shade.

Pam, I think that depends on the variety. I had some get pretty sunburned last year when I cut back some of the overhead canopy. but Southern Comfort sure seems to love the sun.

Heuchs are supposed to be known for liking dry shade, but I don't find that true. Most seem to prefer moist shade. The Heuchs that are bred from those growing wild in Colorado and California probably would be better choices for dry shade. But I don't know that Terra Nova is using those plants in their breeding.

I had many established ones get crispy and die last year in that drought. Even some that were in complete shade under the Maples couldn't take that dryness.

Most of mine are TNN's and a few from Shady Oaks. I started growing them at first in a raised bed and shade. But they did not thrive. Of course, up here, we don't get the real heat that you get down there too. We didn't dare run the sprinklers in the drought either because we have well water and didn't want the well to run dry.
I have plants that people tell me are invasive and they'll barely survive here, and others that flourish that people say they can' grow - always an adventure - lol

Yes, your coolness is a real blessing in the summer and your soil mycorrhizza is superb. It's easy to understand why they flourish more in the natural soil than in raised beds.

Yes, that's exactly why my statement about the plugs not working for me has to be considered in light of anyone else's growing conditions. Last year no amount of sprinkling would wet anything deeper than 1/4 inch of soil. I carried thousands of buckets of water out to the beds to drench the heuchs and it was a losing battle.

Let's hope that we have a normal summer this year. I love the humidity and hated it last year when we had none, so did my garden.

This wild weather that we are having does make you wonder what the summer will be like. We had just a bit of tiny hail last night, while towns down off the mt had golf ball and even 3 " hail. And tornadoes in PA? That is just too wild.

Okay -- arent we all princesses?!?!?!

Speaking of Heuch wanting sun... I had 2 palace purple in deep shade, maybe 1 hour direct sun... they did NOT like it at all... I moved them to the west side of the barn (getting mid day and late day sun) and guess what -- they are huge!!!

Then this year all of a sudden about 6 feet away another palace purple emerges!!! Now how in the world does this happen??

Garden Hanky Panky!!

Squirrels love to dig up my plants and drag them around. And I absolutely can not put anything in pots on the west side of my house because the squirrels think I'm putting sandboxes out for them to play in.

I always find a lot of bulbs that the squirrels plant in the most inconvenient places!

Purple Palace re-seeds and comes true from it's seeds. That's why you see so many for sale at the garden centers.

I think it is a handsome plant.

Well I have some of this handsome guy if anyone wants some! Lol

One of my oldest heucheras - Montrose Ruby. I've had it 7 or 8 years, and it has continued to return each year, but not really flourish. Last summer I divided it and replanted in the new, sunnier bed. The color is beautiful this year.

see... ah-ha ladies! We are on to something!!! They "DO" like sun!!!

Pam - i'll trade you some palace purple for the montrose ruby?!?!?!?!

Good for you Pam! I was just thinking today that I will have quite a number that will need dividing this fall and next spring.

Midnight Rose, it has a slight dusting of oak pollen on it. It's really dark and great pink streaking.

ohhh -- I like that one too!!!
You should throw a few of those in with the big box of Heuch I ordered from you.

I don't think I have any extra of these. Maybe we'll order more from TNN in the fall.

Midnight Rose is a very beautiful Heuch, but I haven't found it to increase in size very much from year to year.

Montrose Rose is a very early hybrid. They should start selling it again as it is a very hardy reliable heuch. I hate that they take the good ones out of production.