Maestro, cue Carol of the bells! This enchanting, woodland plant may not actually play classic Christmas songs, but it certainly knows how to be a show stopper in the garden! Coral Bells (Heuchera) are hands down my favorite landscape plant. Just ask my boyfriend about the time I freaked out over all the coral bells in Bute Park in Cardiff. Part of their allure is that they come in so many colors that I reckon Bob Ross could have painted with them. Coral Bells are great landscape plants, but they can also make whimsical house plants. Whether you plan to have your cutie of plant inside or out, here are my recommended Coral Bell care tips!
General History of Coral Bells
As I always say, knowing a plant’s history and root of origin (pun intended) is important for understanding how it will do in your home environment. Coral Bells are native to North America, and are generally found in woodland or mountain environments, particularly on steep slopes. There is at least one species of Heuchera native to every state but Florida. They are also known as “Alum Root” since the root of the plant is rich in tannins, it can be used similarly to alum in the pickling process. Have I ever pickled? No. But I like that if I ever find myself pickling and run out of alum, I can chop up the root of my Coral Bell and still get my pickles!
This cheeky little plant has other talents that can be useful, including medicinal applications of pain relieving and reducing inflammation. Where was this plant after my hand surgery!
Sunlight
Coral Bells do best in partial shade, particularly in hot climates like Texas. A dappled sunlight of up to 5 hours a day is most suitable. Think of Coral Bells as a pasty white person. Left in those UV rays too long, they burn. However, when planting your Coral Bell in shade or a low light area of your home, be sure the soil is well draining. If it is not, this can lead to fungal diseases.
Water
Coral Bells have medium water needs. While they don’t like to sit in standing water, they do like their soil to be consistently moist. Coral Bells have a shallow root system, so my rule of thumb is to use your finger and check the moisture level of the top inch of soil. If it feels dry, give that bad boy a drink. With that being said, established Coral Bells are more drought tolerant, but they thrive with consistent watering.
If your Coral Bell is planted in a hotter / sunnier area or is potted in an unglazed pot, you may want to provide a little extra water beyond 1 inch to the heat exhausted perennial.
Fertilizing & Soil
Coral Bells like a well draining, neutral PH to slightly acidic soil. A soil that is hummus rich is ideal for the plant, as this will help with soil fertitlity and overall plant health! In the winter, Coral Bell crowns are suseptible to heaving above the soil line as the ground thaws and freezes. This can leave the plant exposed. A layer of mulch can help with this, partiuclarly if you live in a colder climate!
As for fertilizer, Coral Bells don’t need much, just a little compost in the spring. However, if you are growing your Coral Bell in a container indoors, a water soluble fertilizer that you can add to your watering can help with any nutrients that have been leeched. To be transparent, I have never fertilized my coral bell and it’s still thriving.
Pruning & Propagation
In the Spring, Coral Bells bloom with these gorgeous flowering stalks. However, once those bad boys are done peacocking, you will want to cut off the entire flower stalk to help the plant grow more leaves. If you’ve had an Orchid before, it is a similar process.
Additionally, these plants are short lived perennials, and will need to be divided every 3-4 years as the crown becomes woody, otherwise you may not have them around the following season. The offsets from the parent plant can be treated as fresh root cuttings. They will root easily with no hormones needed. I’m a few years off from dividing up my Coral Bell, but I will circle back to you on how it goes!
Variations
Remember how I said earlier that these plants come in a plethora of colors? That’s because there are over 200 cultivars of Huechera! In fact, a cultivar inspired this entire post (my beautiful Pumpkin Spice Coral Bell!)! So what is a cultivar? A cultivar is a plant that has been bred for certain traits by humans. While I will not list all 200+ cultivars, here are a few of my favorites:
- Pumpkin Spice
- Georgia Peach
- Glitter
- Carnival Peach Parfait
- Purple Palace
- Watermelon Heuchera
I hope these Coral Bell care tips help your Huechera thrive! They are pretty enchanting plants. Speaking of enchanting, if your plant does start to play Carol of the Bells, I would love to see a video of that! If you are looking for more plant care tips like these coral bell care tips, check out my post on pothos & shamrocks! Hopefully, before long, I’ll have several plant care guides for your reference needs!