Dolce® Apple Twist Coral Bells

Chartreuse yellow leaves with wavy, rippled edges mature to apple green on this compact coral bells, and new leaves carry red veining that fades with age. Heuchera Dolce® 'Apple Twist' grows 10 to 12 inches tall and 20 to 24 inches wide in part shade, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 9. The habit is dense and full with good vigor, and cream flowers appear in midsummer. Dolce coral bells stay smaller than the Primo types, which makes them easy to fit into containers and the front of a border. 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 bright color lights up a shaded container or pairs with dark-leaved coral bells.