Red Sea Coral Bells

Thick, maple-like leaves in deep red to almost black keep their color through summer heat on this coral bells. Heuchera 'Red Sea' grows 12 to 16 inches tall and wide in part sun to part shade, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 8.

It is a cross of 'Blackout' with a red Heuchera villosa, which gives it heat tolerance, and white flowers appear from late spring through summer.

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 dark red fits a container or the front of a border beside chartreuse or silver foliage.