Heuchera DOLCE^® 'SILVER GUMDROP'

Coral bells are cultivated and bred mostly for their colourful foliage. If a creative someone could put together a patchwork showing all possible colours and patterns available today I am sure we would be looking at a great work of art. That's nice, nonetheless, what about the flowers? Rest assured that there are also some, yet not many, varieties renowned for production of showy flowers. Silver Gumdrop is one of them. It was bred by Hans Hansen from Walters Gardens in Michigan in 2013 and patented as PP29207 in 2018. It belongs to the DOLCE^® series that consists of richly coloured varieties, all named by various sweets.

Silver Gumdrop is a yummy (yet inedible) coral bells variety with mid-sized leaves with rounded lobes. They have the most peculiar colour combining silver and rosy pink with gentle burgundy-brown venation and purple red undersides. From July until late summer rise slender, 50 or even 60 cm tall, dark red stems holding upright panicles of small, purple pink flowers over a long period. They can be cut off if only beautiful foliage is what you desire. Leaves show good resistance to mild frost and are quite nice even in winter. It performs best in partial shade.

Coral bells can take almost any soil with ample moisture and good drainage. They do best in partial shade or filtered sun, however, if you make sure they will not dry out you can place them in full sun, too. They can also live in dark shade where their colours will not be too rich, such location is usually best for light coloured varieties. Cut off all leaves in early spring to encourage growth of new foliage. Fully hardy to abt. -34°C (USDA zone 4), and suitable for outdoor pots.

Last update 04-01-2019