I am just wondering how the warmer zones do for heuchera. I could be missing something, but it seems to me that most of us that post (with the exception of Springcolor ) are in the cooler zones.

How do these beautiful and colorful plants do for the warmer zones? I was reading that most heuchs are zone 4-9.

I know those that live in the southern part of the country have said in the past, the sunlight there is not like it is in the northern part of the country.

I would love to hear about heuchera experience in zones 7-9.

Now that you mention it the only other one I can think of is Virginiarose and I think she just started with them this year.

This is Apple Crisp. Took the winter very well.



Some are looking good!


and some are kind of sad looking

Most of these were plugs last year. Hoping for some lush growth this year.

Julia

Very nice - I am anxious to see mine. We had snow today - not much, but enough so that you didn't want to be outside. Can't wait for Spring to come!

This is an old thread, I know. This is my first year for Heucheras . I am in zone 9a, Hot and humid. They did well all spring and through early summer. Now that we have extreme heat and humidity (Heat index 102+), not so much. I think I lost one and the other, "Plum" is struggling terribly!

In your zone I would only try to plant ones with Villosa in their background in almost full shade just a little morning sun.

NJBob said:In your zone I would only try to plant ones with Villosa in their background in almost full shade just a little morning sun.

Thanks Bob. It always irks me when nurseries sell items that don't do well in our area. I thought I would give it a try this spring not knowing how Plum pudding Would do in our heat. I will look for villosa and ASK if the ones they sell will do well in our hot temperature. My backyard is full shade except for some morning and late afternoon dappled sunshine. If I can find them, they will be perfectly suited here. Thanks again.

Ok I just looked at the heuchera villosa and it seems that is what I have. Plum pudding and Bronze Wave. I looked up the zone and they are supposed to grow here in 9a AND be heat tolerant. Here, I was blaming the nursery and it was me all along. I will try again (and again) because they were just so pretty and added so much color in my green foliage shade yard.

I have always found Bronze Wave to be one of the best growers What kind of soil are you planting in , they like a good well draining soil I have had good luck with Miracle Grow garden soil. Slightly acidic and just one feeding of a 5-10-5 fertilizer a year.

Bronze Wave is sitting under a large oak so I know already it is battling for water. But I thought it could handle it since it does get regular water despite it's location. It is shaded and growing in very rich mulch-y, acidic soil. We used Ozium early this summer but that's all. Maybe it was planted too deep? It flowered for it seemed 2 months. It was happy until lately when the temps got consistently hot and it simply disappeared. My Plum Pudding is getting smaller and smaller. It had nice large leaves and now they are half dollar size. At least it is still there.

I saw my Bronze Wave!! I had to look under some Toad lilly and a few lingering Easter Lily, but it's there. Not looking very good but it's there. Any hints to bring it back? It gets mottled sun shaded by other plants but mostly shade. It sits right up to the trunk of a giant red oak tree. How much water should it get considering the great demands of the tree? Maybe it's our 100*+ heat?

Cheryl

my guess it is probably the heat. I swear I have lost more heuchs from the high temps than any of the winter weather.

Carolyn22 said:Cheryl

my guess it is probably the heat. I swear I have lost more heuchs from the high temps than any of the winter weather.

Aw Shucks! There's not a thing I could do for that. I will just cross my fingers. We have at least 6 more weeks of usual intense heat. If they make it into Sept. they have have good chance of surviving.

If my heuchera survives the summer, and it looks like it will, though MUCH smaller in size, how do I winter it over??

Cheryl

I think the tough part was getting your heuch through your summer. What kind of winters does zone 9a have? Is there a rainy season ?

Hi Carolyn, We are very hot and Tropical in the Houston area. Not much of a winter at all but it can happen. We will start to get cold (for us) late November but I have had many 80* for Christmases. First freeze can happen in Dec but Jan. and Feb. are really our coldest months and we have had our share of hard freezes and ice storms. Winters day can range from the odd snow fall to the 80* sunny day. I do protect all my plants from possible frost. A mild winter keeps me busy bring them in and out and in and out AND in and out of the protected areas. By end of March winter is over. There is no rainy season per se. But the amount of rain is sporadic or plagued with tropical storms. We had a drought last year. We're well over our average rain total this year. Rain is hard to predict living along the Gulf Coast. Thanks for your help.

Cheryl

Keep us posted. I am thinking that not many people in the warmer zones grow heuchera. I know the heuchera don't like to have wet feet, which is why I was asking about any type of rainy season. Additionally, I don' think they or any plant for that matter does well in drought conditions, although I know many people wait until their heuchs start to wilt a bit before watering.

You know? I saw heuchera for the first time last spring. Of course I thought they were beautiful and grabbed up two. It really irks me when nurseries sell things that don't do well in our climate. I usually look at the zone on the tag but I guess this time I was overcome by it's beauty. I do have them planted by a tree where the soil stays on the dry side. So I know they have been treated right except for the hot temps.

Now that we are cooling down, I will watch them. I might pull what's left out of the ground and put them in pots for more climate control as I do really love it's color. I'm bummer for sure! Thanks for all your information, Carolyn. Live and learn, right?

Yes, definitely live and learn. I learned the hard way to check the tags for zones. Too often I have seen plants that have the word 'Perennial' on them, and they would be perennial for somebody in a zone 7, but definitely not in my zone. You would think the stores would do a better job with this stuff.