Coral Bells Heuchera Forever Red

Forever 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.

Drainage decides whether it lives

This 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.

The steady red against the seasonal ones

Compared with Fire Alarm, 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 Black Forest Cake 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 coral bells range.

Dividing pays for itself

Cut 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.

Choosing a size

This 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 when to plant in Australia.