Northern Exposure Red Coral Bells

Northern Exposure Red Coral Bells (Heuchera 'Northern Exposure Red') brings deep red foliage to the part shaded beds where most colour comes from flowers or not at all. It forms a low evergreen mound about 35cm tall and 40cm across, holding its colour year round, and sends up slender cream flower spikes to roughly 50cm in spring and summer. It was bred for tougher conditions than older heucheras, tolerating both cold winters and hot spells.

Why you'll love it

• Foliage colour that lasts all year. Deep red leaves rather than a short flowering window, so a shaded bed has something to look at in July.
• Bred to be tougher. Selected for cold hardiness and heat resilience, the weak point of older heuchera varieties.
• A neat, dependable size. About 35cm tall and 40cm wide, low enough for the front of a border and never needing control.
• Flowers the pollinators use. Fine cream spikes held well above the leaves, drawing bees and butterflies without cluttering the look.

Where it works best

Borders and edging in part shade. Plant 40cm apart along the front of a shaded bed. At that spacing the mounds meet within two seasons and the red line stays unbroken.

Mass planting under trees. Drifts at 40cm centres carpet the ground beneath deciduous trees, where lawn struggles and bare mulch looks unfinished.

Pots and rockeries. Excellent in a 300mm pot on a shaded balcony, and the compact mound suits pockets between rocks where soil is shallow.

Growing coral bells in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade is the sweet spot: morning sun with afternoon protection, since full afternoon sun bleaches and scorches the leaves. It is a plant for cool temperate and warm temperate gardens, so southern states, the tablelands and cooler inland districts suit it. In subtropical and tropical gardens it rarely lasts, because humidity through a long wet summer is the real limit.

Soil. Rich, moisture retentive and free draining at once. Work compost through the bed and mulch 50mm deep, off the crown. Heavy wet clay rots the crown over winter, so raise the bed.

Water and feed. Moderate and regular. It is not a drought plant: water twice a week through summer and never let a potted one dry out. A light complete fertiliser in early spring is enough.

Maintenance. Remove tired or marked leaves at the base, and cut spent flower spikes off once they brown. Every three or four years the crown lifts above the soil, so dig the clump, divide it and replant deeper.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in 140mm pots, sold in packs of ten, and that size is on backorder at present, so expect a wait. Ten plants at 40cm centres cover about four metres of border. Each arrives as a young established mound with the red colour already showing.

Heucheras are soft leaved, so a few limp leaves after transit are normal and trim off cleanly. Growth is slow, and a plant takes two seasons to reach full size. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the wider range of plants for partial shade.
• Find companions among rockery plants.
• Read about ground cover plants for shade.
• Compare more plants for cool climates.

Common questions

Will it grow in Brisbane or the tropics?

Not reliably. This is a cool temperate and warm temperate plant, and long humid summers rot the crown even when the heat is manageable. In subtropical gardens treat it as a short lived pot plant.

How far apart should I plant it?

Forty centimetres apart for mass planting or a border. Each plant reaches about 40cm across, so that spacing closes gaps without crowding the crowns, where rot starts.

Why is my plant lifting out of the soil?

Heucheras push their crown upwards as they age, exposing a woody base. Lift the clump in early spring every three or four years, divide it and replant deeper.