Heuchera Paris
Looking for a Heuchera that has everything, you wont go far wrong with Paris
We always had difficulty with Heuchera in Aberdeen. Normally they would weaken in the second season and by the third, it wasn’t worth persevering.
Heuchera Paris in our garden
In spite of the clay soil, here in our Cheshire garden, which gets kind of boggy in Winter and very dry in Summer, the Heucheras are thriving.
We planted Paris in the back garden last year in late Spring, the plant was already in full bloom, little did we realise that these blooms would still be looking good two months later.
Cutting back the faded flowers in mid July rewarded us three weeks later with a second flush, every bit as strong as the first, lasting into late September.
The evergreen plants came through the Winter unscathed and once again we are enjoying the first flush of striking deep pink blooms which darken to red as they age.
Plant details
Heuchera Paris (Coral Bells) is a fully hardy evergreen perennial with deep green foliage which has a covering veil of white/silver. The airy see through deep pink/red blooms which reach a height of 45/60cm/18/24in makes it ideal for the border edge.
Loads of information backing up what I say regarding the long flowering period.
I am tempted to say that this is the best Heuchera available, there, I have said it (others are available) like, say several hundred, and many with extremely interesting foliage, but few which flower so well, unless you know differently.
Hardiness — Fully hardy
Soil — Any soil type which is free draining although ours is permanently wet in Winter
Height — 45/60cm
Position — Full sun/partial shade, many Heucheras fair pretty well in full shade, I think this one would not flower so well.
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Heuchera Lime Rickey
This one was planted at the same time as Paris.. Seems that Lime Rickey is happier in a semi shaded position. We have a few of this one which were intended to edge an area of the new bed in the back garden.
We shifted them into the woodland walk, nothing wrong with them, they simply didn’t suit the location in the main garden.
A couple of them are in pretty deep shade yet still looking healthy.
Lime Rickey is evergreen, the new emerging foliage in Spring is a little darker and later turns this bright lime green.
White flowers emerge in late Spring lasting 2/3 weeks.
Grows to a height of around 30cm12in. Great emphasis is placed on keeping the soil moist in Summer.
Dividing in early Autumn is the recommended time, think I will try this especially with Heuchera Paris.
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Its now 18 months since we moved to Cheshire. The back garden was very near stripped bare. Pictures below taken in mid June shows how it is developing.
We still have a reminder of the lawn remaining, I keep saying we are going to remove it completely. The intention is to have gravel in place of the grass that remains, just fear that it may look too harsh. What do you think?
Thanks for checking out Aberdeen gardening. See you next time
Hello Matt
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment. I will be keeping my eye on Paris, really dont want to lose this one.
I love your garden Alistair! I am amazed at how established it looks after only 18 months…it’s really beautiful. I have a few Heucheras growing in my garden….they definitely like sharp drainage to live beyond one or two seasons. Even the, they need dividing after about 4 years or they will go into decline again. The Heuchera Paris is definitely one I’ll keep an eye out for, its flowers are stunning!
On the other hand Tatyana, I couldn’t get Heucheras to perform well in our last garden, here in Cheshire seems like you can chuck them in anywhere and they do well.
Sunil, I guess that planting reasonably sized plants goes a long way as to how the garden is looking in a short time. Having said that, they certainly come on quicker here than they would have in Aberdeen.
Hello Alistair, we don’t have heuchera’s in the garden, my other half doesn’t like the non-green leaves but it’s good to see some that I may be allowed withe the “Lime Rickey”. I can’t believe how established your new garden looks in such a short pace of time. It looks as though you have been gardening there for years! You must be very proud of your achievements in only 18 months.
Hi Alistair! I love your plants! I wasn’t lucky with Heuchera in my garden. Tried so many varieties, but they all didn’t perform well. Most of them are gone now. Then, I started moving remaining plants from one spot to another, again and again. Finally, I have several Heucheras growing happily! So, it wasn’t a plant, but it was a gardener who did something wrong…
Have a great July!
I think I may well become an addict Jane, and I also like the Heucheras. (joking) I do trust you regarding the gravel vs grass thing. I think i need to make further changes if I opt for the gravel
As a Heuchera-holic this was a lovely post (mind you, I always enjoy my visits here). I grew a selection of these red and pink varieties from seed last year that are currently growing in a few of my clients gardens and they look spectacular wafting in the breeze. Now you’ll become an addict like me ?
As for the lawn….I’d say ‘Bye Bye’. Gravel, or whatever, will look fabulous. Trust me….?
I think you may be correct Deb. The small area which we gravelled made such a difference, however replacing all of the grass may be a step too far.
The heuchera is a lovely one! I personally like the grass you have. It instills a peaceful note and is a good counterbalance to all that is going on in the garden beds. My opinion is that gravel would in fact look harsh. Gravel looks good when surrounded by lots of evergreens, not so much with lots of flowers. Also it is amazing how many weeds love gravel!
Heucheras were not a success in our Aberdeen garden Donna. Thinking about the gravel, I like it in a small area but I am going off the idea of replacing the grass with it.
The garden is developing nicely Rick, would have preferred to have had a bit more space to work with. I am quietly confident regarding the Heucheras, mind you I am guilty of over planting.
Can’t believe what you have accomplished in such a short period of time Alistair, your garden is looking terrific. I was interested to read about your experience with Heucheras, they do seem to do well round here generally, in fact the local parks department uses them for display bedding to which they lend themselves but, although I like them, I have limited success. I think it is probably down to my shady damper conditions but there is also one thing I have found from experience and that is that they will not stand for any competition and soon give up the struggle.
I have not had luck with heucheras in my garden with the wet clay….but I am hopeful….I really love them. I am partial to lawn between beds, but I guess it would depend on the material used if I got rid of my lawn paths.
Dont have a problem with deer Pam, squirrels and rabbits, actually its a single rabbit, which is rather unusual. I am thinking the grass is probably here to stay.
Love the blooms on your ‘Paris’, Alistair. I have several heuchera in my shade garden and Woodland Walk because they are not the deer’s favorite food. Having said that, some creature pulled out two of them last night. I spray with repellent, but the darn rain keeps washing it off — we are having a very wet June. My lawns are very soggy, too, and I can understand why you would want to get rid of yours. Lawns are very labor intensive and I ‘preach’ getting rid of them and planting more blooms. Having said that, your lawn greatly enhances the overall appearance of your garden. I fear you may not like the look of gravel. You have done an amazing job in such a short time! P. x
Thanks Sue, I get a feeling that we may regret lifting the grass.
18 months! I feel it has gone quickly! I got rid of all the grass for a few reasons including that i hate mowing and weeding lawns. Potter has never forgiven me and I think it may have been a mistake. It’s somehow not as inviting to sit in, and it really provides a nice contrast to the beds. Your garden is looking lovely.
Its true Lorraine, too much hard landscaping done these days. However, our back garden is made up of so much borders, loved by the insects and birds I really dont think it would matter much. In fact if you have any ideas on getting rid of those damned wood pigeons without using a gun, I would appreciate it.
I just wanted to add some food for thought on the grass/gravel dilemma. I understand there are some very valid reasons for getting rid of a lawn but it may be worth taking wildlife into consideration. Lawns provide a valuable home to a myriad of insects and worms etc. which in turn provide food for many birds. I’d miss seeing blackbirds, thrushes and green woodpeckers, to name but a few, visiting my lawn to feast on worms/slugs/snails and other grubs. Of course it’s purely down to personal choice and often a terrain or physical difficulties dictates that but I just thought it might be worth adding to the decision making process. Apologies if you’re already doing that and I’m merely telling you to suck eggs.
Helene, when looking at your last garden I could see how good it looks without grass, just not quite sure about ours as yet.
Oh, that’s some pretty heuchera flowers! Most flowers are pretty insignificant but these are unusually beautiful. Your garden is an inspiration, I can see a lot of hard work getting it up and running in such a short time. I can assure you it will take me MUCH longer to do anything remotely similar with my new garden.
As for the lawn, I got rid of mine in the old garden and never looked back, I will do the same here in my new garden once I have found someone willing to strip it for me on my shoestring budget. I haven’t got children anymore, and grandchildren are a long way away according to my busy son and his fiancée – I don’t need a lawn myself, it’s just work to me – and all the extra space can be used to plant even more beautiful flowers. Need I say more?!
Further south than Aberdeen, well worth trying Heuchera Elizabeth.
Anne, the purple/blue plants are a Salvia.
Your garden is simply beautiful. I love the bed in the middle of your lawn. I can see that we have a long way to go before ours is anything like as good. And your hostas are wonderful – so slug free! We are further south but still in Scotland so I’m wondering just how well heuchara would do here – ours is free draining soil so may be worth trying. Thanks for sharing. Elizabeth
I think your garden is absolutely beautiful.What are the tall purple plants in the border.Grass does set off the planting but I think you have enough lush planting that gravel would look ok.We are looking to do a similar thing,really because my little dog burns the grass.
Thanks Lorraine, a stone or gravel path is an option to concider
Your garden is beautiful, you have worked wonders with it. I agree with Debra about the grass but as someone with a boggy area in the garden I can sympathise with your predicament. I had to gravel in the end but I still have a large area of lawn that doesn’t get boggy at all. It’s difficult to get an idea of the scale of your garden from photographs, would you have room to create narrow paths, just wide enough to walk on, around the borders using brick paviors? I’ve seen this in a garden magazine somewhere and it looked really effective, (assuming you like that sort of thing of course), or perhaps you could do something similar using some other form of path material.
I just wish I could get my lawn to look as lush as yours, mine looks great in the spring then we’re usually hit with a long dry spell and I end up with dry faded patches, I hate to waste water on it so I just leave it, but I do sometimes wonder whether to just do away with it altogether.
Thanks Debra, it is satisfying to see how the garden has taken shape. Its a difficult decision with the grass. I suppose the main reason for lifting it would be that in Winter and even early spring the grass is rather boggy to walk on.
Your garden looks just beautiful! It’s amazing what you’ve done in such a short time. I remember when you moved there and left your ther garden. You’ve certainly created another lovely one, that’s for sure. It must please you tremendously.
And the grass? Definitely keep it. That’s my opinion anyway. Your beds look lovely with the area of grass around them.
Debra