{"title":"Coral Bells","description":"\u003cp\u003eHeucheras, the coral bells, are the shade garden's colour wheel: neat mounds of ruffled foliage in shades no flower can hold for months on end, from near-black through caramel, lime and plum. This page lists every heuchera available from our partner farms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe darks anchor a planting: \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-obsidian\"\u003eObsidian\u003c\/a\u003e in glossy near-black, Black Taffeta with ruffled edges, and Black Forest Cake pairing dark leaves with cherry-red flowers. The warm tones bring the glow: \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-marmalade\"\u003eMarmalade\u003c\/a\u003e in amber-orange, Peach Flambe in hot coral, and Sugar Plum and Peppermint Spice in silvered plum. For sheer signal colour, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-fire-alarm\"\u003eFire Alarm\u003c\/a\u003e and Forever Red hold true red foliage, while Lime Marmalade and Berry Smoothie push chartreuse and raspberry into the mix. Slender wands of tiny bell flowers rise above the mounds through the warm months and pull in pollinators.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrowing notes: heucheras want morning sun or bright dappled shade, moist well-drained soil rich in organic matter, and mulch to keep roots cool; hot afternoon sun scorches the fancy foliage, and the darker cultivars take the most sun. They are shallow-rooted, so water consistently in their first summer and lift-and-replant any crown that pushes itself up after a few years. Superb massed as edging under deciduous trees, tucked into part-shade borders, or in pots where the foliage can be seen up close. Remove spent flower stems and tatty leaves and that is the whole maintenance program.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCombine them with the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/flowering\"\u003eflowering range\u003c\/a\u003e for layered beds, or use them where the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/indoor-plants\"\u003eindoor foliage look\u003c\/a\u003e needs to step outside into shade. Every order ships farm-direct with flat $99 delivery across QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, ACT and WA, a $399 minimum order, and the 30-Day Healthy Plant Guarantee.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"heuchera-berry-smoothie","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Berry Smoothie","description":"\u003cp\u003eBerry Smoothie is grown for leaf colour that keeps moving: rose purple while the weather is cool, shifting towards lighter caramel and smoky pink over silver as it warms, on large ruffled leaves in a rounded mound. Wiry stems lift small pale flowers above the clump in the warm months, but nobody buys a heuchera for the flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt belongs to the larger, villosa influenced group, which matters in Australia because those hold up far better through heat and humidity than the daintier older hybrids that melt away in a Sydney February.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse it as a ribbon along the front of a part shaded border, in mixed pots with ferns, or under deciduous trees. Morning sun with afternoon shade gives the best colour without scorching, while deep shade dulls it off.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo failures to avoid: planting the crown too deep, which rots it, and heavy clay that stays wet all winter. Lift and replant when the woody crown starts pushing itself out of the ground.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308978844017,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/84B9_s32SX35_MCqaiGdI_NMl4tSc6.jpg?v=1787628215"},{"product_id":"heuchera-black-taffeta","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Black Taffeta","description":"\u003cp\u003eFew perennials hold near black foliage right through summer, and this is one of the better attempts. Black Taffeta carries heavily ruffled, almost pleated leaves in very dark purple to charcoal, with a satin rather than glossy surface, and those frilled margins catch light in a way that flat leaved dark heucheras never manage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe clump is evergreen and mounding, and short spikes of small cream flowers rise on dark stems through the warmer months. It works hardest as contrast: against lime green sedges, silver artemisia, pale gravel or a light rendered wall, where a dark leaf reads as a shape instead of a hole.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDark leaved heucheras need more light than pale ones to keep colour, though not hot afternoon sun in inland gardens. Give morning sun, moist free draining soil with compost through it, and mulch pulled back from the crown. Slugs and vine weevil are the usual pests. Divide crowns every three or four years. Flat rate delivery is $99, on orders from $399.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 3 sizes, from 140mm up to 205mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"205mm","offer_id":64308979007857,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64308979040625,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308979073393,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/OvhdrL6TUT6YtCLN-qRr7_eYJd55Zd.jpg?v=1787628216"},{"product_id":"heuchera-lime-marmalade","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Lime Marmalade","description":"\u003cp\u003eYou see this one used a lot by designers who need to lift a dark corner without resorting to variegation. Lime Marmalade holds bright chartreuse to lime foliage, deeply ruffled around the edge, in an evergreen mound that keeps its colour through the year rather than fading to plain green once new growth hardens.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eColour is strongest in bright shade or morning sun. In full Australian sun the leaves bleach and burn at the margins, and in deep shade they slide to soft green and the whole point is lost. That fairly narrow window is worth planning for at design stage rather than discovering later.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePair it with black mondo, dark leaved heucheras, blue fescue, or run it under a Japanese maple, and mass it rather than dotting single plants about. Soil should be free draining with compost through it and kept evenly moist over summer. Keep the crown proud of the mulch line, watch for slugs on soft new leaves, and divide when the clump starts lifting itself upward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308979171697,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/OvN3eCX0cIKsgQ5R1j6iE_puAlyfWX.jpg?v=1787628216"},{"product_id":"heuchera-obsidian","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Obsidian","description":"\u003cp\u003eGardeners often ask what separates Obsidian from the other black heucheras, and the answer is surface. Obsidian has broad, smooth, softly rounded leaves with a metallic sheen and very little ruffling, so it reads as a solid dark mass rather than a texture. That makes it the better choice where a planting needs weight and calm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is an evergreen clump former, dependable in the ground and in pots, with modest cream flowers on fine stems through the warm months that plenty of people simply cut off. Repeat it along a shaded path edge, use it to ground silver and lime plantings, or run it beneath white flowering hydrangeas.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMorning sun keeps the colour deepest, while scorching afternoon sun in Perth or Adelaide will fade and crisp it. Give friable, compost rich soil that drains, and never bury the crown. In humid summers thin the growth around it so air can move through. Divide every few years, once the woody base has lifted clear of the soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 205mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"205mm","offer_id":64308979466609,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308979499377,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/SKUUWG8o9mBW4mYCGPBTS_76TsxQfP.jpg?v=1787628279"},{"product_id":"heuchera-peach-flambe-tissue-culture","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Peach Flambe Tissue culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eTissue culture on the label is not marketing. It means the stock was raised from clean laboratory material rather than from divisions, so plants come uniform, true to type, and free of the viruses that quietly weaken old heuchera stock passed around by division for years. On a coloured foliage line that is worth paying attention to.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeach Flambe is one of the warm toned selections: peachy orange to copper leaves through the growing season, deepening to plum and rust as cold weather arrives, on an evergreen mound of lobed, lightly ruffled foliage. Orange leaved heucheras are the most sun sensitive of the lot, and this one will bleach and burn in full exposure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive it morning light with afternoon shade, soil improved with compost and draining properly, and steady moisture over summer. It suits pot work, front borders and courtyard plantings in cooler and coastal gardens more than hot inland ones. Keep the crown above soil level, and divide when it starts lifting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308979728753,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/bkg9u1tkaBaN4OjHkLOl_GtuZwc43.jpg?v=1787628217"},{"product_id":"heuchera-peppermint-spice","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Peppermint Spice","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost modern heucheras are grown for foliage alone, with the flower stems snipped off as a distraction. Peppermint Spice is one to leave standing. Slim stems carry spikes of small dusky pink bells well above the clump through the warmer months, they cut well for a vase, and they bring in bees and honeyeaters.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe foliage is the usual heuchera mound, evergreen, with a silvered overlay and darker veining that gives a smoky look rather than one flat colour. It sits comfortably beside lavender, catmint and small grasses in a border, or in a mixed pot where something has to actually flower.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt wants morning sun with afternoon shade, soil improved with compost, and drainage that still works in winter. Heucheras in Australia are usually killed by one of two things: crown rot from being planted too deep or mulched over, and drying out completely in a pot during a hot week. Cut spent flower stems off at the base to keep the display coming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 205mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"205mm","offer_id":64308979827057,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308979859825,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/5dtqdn8-oiMp8tuQ7p2D-_EQcR3zcU.jpg?v=1787628216"},{"product_id":"heuchera-fire-alarm","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Fire Alarm","description":"\u003cp\u003eBright brick red foliage is the entire point of Fire Alarm. The leaves are rounded and lobed with a lightly ruffled edge, held in a low evergreen mound, and the colour runs hottest on new growth and through the cooler months before easing towards bronze as summer heat builds. Thin stems of small bells appear, but they are a footnote beside the leaves. It is grown for colour in positions that get no direct midday sun: shaded borders, path edges, and as the bright element in an otherwise green pot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHumid summers are the test\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFire Alarm is easiest in Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and the southern tablelands, where summers are drier and the nights cool off. In Sydney and up the coast it needs help. Give it part shade with morning light, moderate water, and a bed lifted with compost and coarse grit so water never sits around the roots. The failure mode is a still, humid summer. Heucheras planted in a sheltered pocket with no air movement, crowded against a fence or under dense evergreen cover, collapse from the middle in February: leaves go limp and brown from the centre out and the whole crown follows within days. Air movement is the fix, and it matters more than the depth of the shade. Space plants at least 300mm apart, keep them away from the base of walls where warm air stagnates, water the soil rather than the foliage, and clear fallen leaves off the crown through the wet months. In a pot, raise it off the ground so the base drains freely instead of standing in a wet saucer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhich warm toned coral bells\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe closest thing in this batch is \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-marmalade\"\u003eMarmalade\u003c\/a\u003e, and the choice between them is climate rather than colour. Marmalade comes from the hairy leaved villosa side of the genus and holds up better through warm, humid summers, so it is the safer buy in Brisbane or coastal Sydney; Fire Alarm gives a cleaner, brighter red but wants the cooler, drier conditions of southern gardens. If you want a red that stays constant instead of shifting to bronze over summer, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-forever-red\"\u003eForever Red\u003c\/a\u003e holds its wine tone all year. Fire Alarm is for gardeners who actually like the seasonal swing. See the full \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/coral-bells\"\u003ecoral bells range\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTidying, feeding and resetting the crown\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is no pruning as such. Pull or snip tired outer leaves off at the base as they fade, and cut the flower stems out once they finish, since they add little here. Feed lightly in early spring with a slow release complete fertiliser and again once the worst of the summer heat has passed; heavy feeding gives soft, floppy leaves that scorch and rot more readily. Over a couple of years the crown lifts itself out of the soil on a woody neck and dries out. Lift the plant in late winter, trim the old stem, and replant it deeper. Snails and slugs will lace new growth in spring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311436870001,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd17-110-fire-alarm-heuchera-heuchera-fire-alarm_cf6510cd-369b-414a-bf01-cf5974cce6f8.png?v=1785551825"},{"product_id":"heuchera-forever-red","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Forever Red","description":"\u003cp\u003eForever Red does what its name promises: a tight, compact mound of lobed and ruffled foliage in deep wine to burgundy that holds its colour through the whole year rather than swinging with the season. It is one of the smaller and neater coral bells, which is what makes it useful as an edge. Planted in a run it draws a continuous dark line along a shaded path or under deciduous trees, and it sits well in a pot. The bell flowers on wiry stems are incidental.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDrainage decides whether it lives\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis suits shaded and part shaded beds through the cooler and temperate parts of the country and needs more care in humid subtropical gardens. Part shade, moderate water, and soil that actually drains. The failure mode is wet feet. Heuchera roots rot in heavy clay that stays soggy for days after rain, and the plant gives very little warning: growth stalls, the leaves lose their gloss, and when you finally pull it up the crown is soft and brown. Australian suburban clay, a bed at the bottom of a slope, or a pot standing in a full saucer will all do it. Build the bed up above the surrounding soil, work in compost and coarse grit or gravel, and set the crown slightly proud so water runs away from it rather than pooling around it. In containers use a free draining potting mix rather than a moisture holding one, and empty the saucer. Water deeply but let the surface dry between drinks. Space plants around 250 to 300mm apart for a continuous edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe steady red against the seasonal ones\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompared with \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-fire-alarm\"\u003eFire Alarm\u003c\/a\u003e, this is the reliable one. Fire Alarm swings from brick red in the cool months to bronze in summer, which some gardeners plant it for; Forever Red stays much the same tone all year, which is what you want if the plant is doing a formal job such as edging a path, where a seasonal colour change reads as a fault. Against \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-black-forest-cake\"\u003eBlack Forest Cake\u003c\/a\u003e the difference is depth and flowers: Black Forest Cake is nearly black with cherry red bells worth displaying, while Forever Red is lighter, redder and grown for leaf alone. Compare across the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/coral-bells\"\u003ecoral bells range\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDividing pays for itself\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCut spent flower stems out at the base whenever they finish, and remove old outer leaves by hand through the year to keep air moving into the middle of the mound. Feed twice, once in early spring and once in autumn, with a light dressing of slow release complete fertiliser or compost worked in around, not over, the crown. Every two or three years lift the clump in late winter, split it into single rosettes with a knife, discard the woody core and replant the pieces deeper than they were. It keeps the colour strong, and it turns one plant into an entire edging run.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311469638001,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd-221-forever-red-heuchera-heuchera-forever-red_ecf84fdd-d96b-4fda-90a6-47e7ee7dbe4a.png?v=1785551930"},{"product_id":"heuchera-sugar-plum","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Sugar Plum","description":"\u003cp\u003eSugar Plum sits in the purple and silver camp of the coral bells rather than the lime or caramel one. The ruffled leaves are plum purple under a silvered overlay with darker veining, so the surface catches light and reads as a pattern rather than a flat block of colour, and the plant builds into a low evergreen mound. Fine wiry stems of small bells rise above it as a haze. It is a plant for shaded borders, pots and the ground under deciduous trees.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eToo much shade dulls it to green\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSugar Plum performs across the temperate south and in cooler elevated gardens, and needs a carefully chosen position in humid coastal heat. Give it part shade, moderate water, and free draining soil improved with compost, with the crown sitting above the surface rather than buried. The failure mode is the opposite of what people expect from a shade plant: put it in deep shade and the silver overlay fades, the purple dulls to a tired green, and the mound opens up and stretches as the leaf stalks reach for light. Gardeners who bought it for the metallic sheen end up with something that looks like a plain green perennial. It needs bright shade, not dark shade. Morning sun with protection from hot afternoon light gives the strongest markings, and an open canopy overhead or the south side of a wall with plenty of sky above it both work well. Full western sun goes too far the other way and crisps the leaf edges. Space plants about 300mm apart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSilver and plum, or matte black\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe nearest comparison is \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-black-forest-cake\"\u003eBlack Forest Cake\u003c\/a\u003e, and it comes down to how close you stand. Black Forest Cake is a solid matte near black that reads as mass from across a garden; Sugar Plum shows its veining and silver only at short range, which makes it a plant for a pot by a door, a courtyard bed or the edge of a path rather than the far end of a border. For a warm palette instead of a cool one, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-marmalade\"\u003eMarmalade\u003c\/a\u003e is the pick, and it is also the tougher plant in humid heat. Gardeners who want winter flowers rather than year round foliage in the same shaded bed should look at \u003ca href=\"\/products\/helleborus-mollys-white\"\u003eHelleborus Mollys White\u003c\/a\u003e, which fills the months when a heuchera is only holding its leaves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKeeping the mound tight\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo formal pruning is needed. Strip old and marked leaves off at the base through the year so light and air reach the centre of the mound, and cut the flower stems out once the bells have finished. Feed in early spring with a slow release complete fertiliser at a light rate and repeat in autumn; overfeeding produces large, soft leaves on long stalks and the silver marking washes out of them. Lift and divide every couple of years in late winter, cutting the woody neck off and replanting the rosettes deeper than they sat before. Keep mulch away from the crown through humid weather, and clear fallen leaves off the centre of the plant after storms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311497359729,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/plantdrop-sugar-plum-heuchera-heuchera-sugar-plum-01_e2d6400d-9e42-4461-aafd-2d4e61d48994.jpg?v=1785552076"},{"product_id":"heuchera-marmalade","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Marmalade","description":"\u003cp\u003eMarmalade is the warm toned one. The ruffled leaves move through amber, umber and deep sienna as the season turns, and the undersides are a vivid pink purple that shows every time the foliage lifts or a leaf rolls back, so the plant reads as two colours at once. It comes from the hairy leaved villosa side of the genus, the group that copes best with warm humid summers. That makes it a foliage plant for shaded borders and pots in gardens where the older purple hybrids struggle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe coral bells for a Sydney or Brisbane courtyard\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVillosa parentage is the reason to choose this one. It handles warm, humid summers better than most of the genus, which puts it within reach of gardens along the east coast where coral bells are otherwise a short lived purchase. It still wants part shade, moderate water, and a bed lifted with compost and coarse grit so the roots never sit wet, with the crown proud of the soil and clear of mulch. The failure mode is hot western sun. Amber and caramel foliage burns faster than people expect: the leaf edges crisp brown, the colour bleaches out to a dull straw, and the damage stays on the plant because heucheras hold their leaves for a long time. Morning sun with full shade from the middle of the day gives the strongest colour without the scorch. Under a deciduous tree, on the east side of a fence, or in a pot that can be shifted as the sun angle changes through the year are all better bets than an open bed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAmber against plum and brick\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet next to \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-sugar-plum\"\u003eSugar Plum\u003c\/a\u003e, this is the plant for gardeners building a warm palette rather than a cool one: amber and rust against plum and silver. The two together tend to look busy rather than considered, so pick a side. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-fire-alarm\"\u003eFire Alarm\u003c\/a\u003e is the closer colour match, brighter and cleaner in its red, but less tolerant of humidity, so gardeners north of Sydney who want a warm toned coral bells are usually better served here. Marmalade also carries more colour variation across a single clump, which suits informal planting more than a formal repeated edge. See the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/coral-bells\"\u003ecoral bells range\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGrooming, not pruning\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTake the old leaves off at the base as they tire rather than cutting across them, which leaves stubs that rot. Most gardeners remove the flower stems on this one as they appear, since the small rusty red bells add little next to the foliage; if you leave them, cut them out at the base once they finish. Feed in early spring and again in early autumn with a light dressing of slow release complete fertiliser, watered in. Every second or third winter, lift the plant, cut off the woody crown base and replant the fresh rosettes deeper. That is the single job that keeps a heuchera going in a warm climate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311511122289,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd-165-marmalade-heuchera-heuchera-marmalade_b676eb88-0c9d-4b2e-a92d-ea00ea4b0eed.png?v=1785552127"},{"product_id":"heuchera-black-forest-cake","title":"Coral Bells - Heuchera Black Forest Cake","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlack Forest Cake carries deeply ruffled, near black foliage in a low evergreen mound, and unlike most coral bells it is worth growing for the flowers as well: slender stems of cherry red bells that stand clear of the leaves and hold for weeks. Almost every other dark leaved heuchera has flowers you cut off. This one you leave on. It works as a shadow in a shaded border, a courtyard pot or a repeated ribbon along a path, where the dark leaf sets off everything planted around it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePlant it where something pale sits behind it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCoral bells want part shade, moderate water and soil that drains sharply, and they do best in Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and the cooler tablelands, with more effort required in humid coastal Queensland. Improve the bed with compost and coarse grit, keep the crown sitting proud of the soil, and give the plants room for air to move between them, around 300mm apart in a drift. Growth is slow to moderate, so plant in numbers rather than waiting for one plant to fill a space. The failure mode with this cultivar is not horticultural, it is placement. A near black plant put against dark bark mulch, a charcoal fence or a bed of dark leaved shrubs simply disappears, and gardeners conclude it is not performing when it is really just invisible. Give it something pale to work against: lime green foliage, a silver leaved companion, pale gravel, a light rendered wall. Repeat it in threes or fives rather than dotting single plants about, so the dark reads as a deliberate mass. Slugs and snails lace the new leaves in spring and show up badly on dark foliage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBlack, plum or brick red\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgainst \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-sugar-plum\"\u003eSugar Plum\u003c\/a\u003e the difference is surface. Sugar Plum is plum purple under a silvered overlay with darker veining, so it catches light and reads as a pattern; Black Forest Cake is matte and solid and reads as a shape. Use Sugar Plum where you want detail close to the eye, and this one where you want weight and contrast at a distance. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/heuchera-fire-alarm\"\u003eFire Alarm\u003c\/a\u003e is the opposite choice again, a bright brick red that advertises itself rather than receding into the background. If you want the darkest leaf in the range and flowers actually worth keeping, this is the one. Compare across the whole \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/coral-bells\"\u003ecoral bells range\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDeadheading, dividing and crown depth\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeave the flower stems until the bells brown off, then cut them out at the base; on this cultivar the display is worth the wait. Keep mulch pulled back from the crown, because a buried crown rots in a humid summer and that is what kills most heucheras in Australian gardens. Feed in early spring and again in autumn with a light dressing of slow release complete fertiliser or worm castings, kept off the leaves. Every second or third year, lift the plant in late winter, cut away the old woody stem base, and replant the youngest rosettes deeper. That single job keeps the mound tight and dark.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $16.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311511318897,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd17-033-black-forest-cake-coral-bells-heuchera-bla_fa97eece-50e4-41c3-a8a7-fc31b165cfc3.png?v=1785552130"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/collections\/pd17-033-black-forest-cake-coral-bells-heuchera-bla_fa97eece-50e4-41c3-a8a7-fc31b165cfc3.png?v=1787348966","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/collections\/coral-bells.oembed","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}