Dolce® Spearmint Coral Bells

Silvery green leaves with dark green veins, a deep green rather than chartreuse, form a soft-textured mound on this coral bells. Heuchera Dolce® 'Spearmint' grows 8 to 10 inches tall and 26 to 30 inches wide in part shade, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 9. Unlike most foliage-first coral bells, it flowers well: bicolor blooms with dark pink tips and light pink bases, over a long season from early to late summer. Deer tend to leave it alone. 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 cool green-silver fits a shaded border beside purple or burgundy foliage.