Heuchera villosa 'Purpurea'

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Heuchera villosa 'Purpurea'

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Kemper Code: A342

Common Name: hairy alum root
Zone: 3 to 8
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Saxifragaceae
Missouri Native: No
Native Range: None
Height: 1.5 to 3 feet
Spread: 1.5 to 2 feet
Bloom Time: August - September Bloom Data
Bloom Color: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low

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Plant Culture and Characteristics

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Uses:		Wildlife:	Flowers:	Leaves:	Fruit:
Hedge	Suitable as annual	Attracts birds	Has showy flowers	Leaves colorful	Has showy fruit
Shade tree	Culinary herb	Attracts	Has fragrant flowers	Leaves fragrant	Fruit edible
Street tree	Vegetable	hummingbirds	Flowers not showy	Good fall color	Other:
Flowering tree	Water garden plant	Attracts	Good cut flower	Evergreen	Winter interest
Gr. cover (<1')	Will naturalize	butterflies	Good dried flower		Thorns or spines

General Culture:

Best grown in organically rich, humusy, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Performs well in full sun in the north, but prefers some shade (particularly in the heat of the afternoon) in the south. In the St. Louis area, best foliage color may occur in sunny spots with part afternoon shade. This species has good drought tolerance and seems to do better in hot and humid summers than most heucheras, though some scorch and general foliage decline may occur if soils are allowed to totally dry out. If grown in full sun, consistent moisture is particularly important. Remove stems of faded flowers to encourage additional bloom. Foliage is essentially evergreen in warm winter climates, but the amount of retained foliage color in cold winter climates such as St. Louis depends in large part upon the severity of the temperatures. In cold winter climates, a winter mulch applied after the ground freezes will help prevent root heaving. Divide clumps in spring every 3-4 years.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Heuchera villosa, sometimes commonly called hairy alum root, is a species of coral bells that is native to rocky wooded slopes from Virginia to Georgia and Tennessee. It is noted for its large, hairy, triangularly-lobed (7-9 lobes), sharply-toothed, green leaves (to 5” across) that have a velvety texture, its hairy, rusty-brown flowering stems and leaf stalks and its late summer flowering (probably the latest in the genus). Leaves typically form a rounded basal clump to 18-24” tall and as wide. Tiny, whitish to pinkish flowers (1/4” wide) borne in open, airy panicles appear in late summer on slender, wiry stems rising above the foliage mound to 36” tall. ‘Purpurea’ is a purple-leaved cultivar that features coppery-purple leaves. Leaf color is similar in appearance to the popular H. micrantha ‘Palace Purple’ (see D240), except perhaps even darker. White flowers appear above the foliage mound on slender stems in late summer to early fall.

Problems:

No serious insect or disease problems. Frost heaving of roots when winter temperatures fluctuate widely is less likely to occur with this species than with many other heucheras.

Uses:

Mass as a ground cover or group. Rock gardens, borders, open woodland gardens, cottage gardens, native plant areas or rocky slopes. Effective as an edger along paths or walkways. For an interesting foliage contrast, this cultivar may be grown effectively in combination with the light-green leaved H. villosa ‘Autumn Bride’ (see A341).