I started off this mini-series on the new plants introduced at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show this week by Plantagogo with a Tiarella, then last time I focused on Heuchera and this time it's the hybrids between the two - x Heucherella. There are two newcomers.
x Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea' is a unique colour. The veins are cinnamon red shading out into the blade of the leaf which is a fresh tea colour stained in orange. As the plant develops the foliage becomes unexpectedly large making this not only a superb container plant but also good ground cover in partial shade.
‘Golden Zebra' is also a spectacular colour, and a plant which becomes even more dramatic as it matures. Opening vivid yellow, with a haze of lime in the newest leaves, each prettily lobed leaf is stained in red along the midrib and main veins. As the season progresses, the leaves become a little larger, though never as large as those of the popular ‘Alabama Sunrise', and the red stain seeps into more and more of the leaf blade until in some cases the result is a bright red leaf with a yellow edge.
Both these new heucherellas are the latest releases from the largest perennial breeding programme in the world at Terra Nova Nurseries in Oregon (no retail sales). They're too new for large mature plants to have had time to develop so while young plants are for sale at the Show they were not on used in the Plantagogo display. And of course these plants are also too new to have been thoroughly tested in British conditions. But there's no denying the amazing colours.
Both these new heucherellas are on sale at the Show, check the Plantagogo website for mail order availability.