Fuzzy leaves in apricot to amber, with purple-red undersides, form a robust mound on this coral bells, shifting shade with light and temperature. Heuchera villosa 'Caramel' grows about 12 inches tall and 12 to 15 inches wide in part shade to full shade, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 9.
Its villosa parentage gives it strength in heat and humidity, and the leaves hold into winter. Cream flowers appear in midsummer.
Coral bells, Heuchera, are grown mainly for their leaves. The genus is native to North America, and most garden coral bells are hybrids of several of its species, which is why leaf color, size and ruffling vary so widely. The leaves are evergreen to semi-evergreen, so the mound keeps color through much of the winter, and small bell-shaped flowers rise above it on wiry stems in late spring or summer, where hummingbirds and bees visit them.
Most coral bells color best in part shade, with morning sun and shelter from hot afternoon sun, though dark-leaved types and those bred from Heuchera villosa take more sun and summer heat than light-leaved ones. They need soil that drains well, especially through winter, and struggle in heavy ground that stays wet. The heights given are for the leaf mound; flower stems stand taller.
The warm leaf color works beside purple foliage or blue hostas.
