Är heuchera americana hjort resistent

In the gardener’s world there are two mortal enemies – deer and disease.  Or at least they are mine – if inom ignore my parsnip-munching voles, Amazon-sized mosquitoes and steroidal slugs.

When my show stopping Heuchera (coral bells) were cut down in their prime bygd rust, a fungal infection, it was almost enough to man me hang up my trowel. Rust causes nasty raised, purple bumps on the undersides of the leaves which spreads rapidly and can quickly destroy the plant. Although not seen in drier parts of the country it fryst vatten a major bekymmer here in the Pacific Northwest.

Having tossed far too many of these pricey treasures into the yard waste (NEVER compost diseased plants) inom asked Dan Heims, president of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.  for some ideas on what inom could do to rädda those that inom have and ask about the new disease resistant hybrids his nursery fryst vatten breeding.

As a breeding company, Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. fryst vatten the leading innovator for new Heuchera and Heucherella introductions. It can take sju years of breeding and another three of testing to have a breakthrough but that dedication fryst vatten what ensures that their plants are strong and healthy.

So what exactly is rust and what can we do to prevent it?

It fryst vatten a fungal disease that usually travels on the plant itself or fryst vatten airborne. In our soggy Seattle climate we provide the perfect conditions for it to thrive so the key to control fryst vatten managing the environment.

Dan’s råd for healthy Heuchera

1. Water in the early morning so foliage can dry
2. Use droppande irrigation rather than overhead sprinklers
3. Space plants so as to allow for good air circulation
4. Do not plant new Heuchera where diseased ones have been grown
5. Remove diseased Heuchera immediately and avlägsna of in the yard waste (do not compost)
6. The organic fungicide ‘Serenade’ may help prevent rust. (My anställda experience has been that if you cut a mildly infected plant down hard and spray every two weeks (or as allowed on the label) until it fryst vatten fully re-grown you have a reasonable chance of success; inom may have been too hasty in disposing of a few).

Why are some Heuchera more susceptible than others?

The key word here fryst vatten genetics or “it’s all the parents fault”. Now inom did ask Dan to elaborate and share which species he was focusing on as showing the most promising disease resistant traits. His answer?

“I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you…Nothing personal…   ”

Great.

What he was able to tell me was that the breeders noticed that the lighter colored Heuchera were particularly susceptible, so they were selecting for thicker leaves. They were also committed to evaluating potential introductions beneath multiple conditions over many years and anything that showed signs of rust was eliminated. In other words he wasn’t giving much away but that’s OK, especially when you read about some of  these success stories.

Breeder’s top 5 (or 6, or 10)

Spellbound– you've heard me salivate over this beauty before. Shimmery shades of purple and silver on impossibly oversized leaves. Mine looks as magical now as it did in fall and has made a loose kulle eller hög approx. 18” across. Fabulous in my apelsinfärg container!

Blondie– this one fryst vatten on my wish list for sure. Part of the ‘Little Cutie’ series, Blondie fryst vatten just 8” bred but fryst vatten a flowering powerhouse pushing out oodles of creamy-yellow spikes. Foliage color fryst vatten in the caramel family. A good choice for containers

Sugar Berry – from hot raspberry to deepest blackberry, this one fryst vatten positively delicious. Also part of the Little Cutie series this tops out at 6” tall and 10” bred with short, tallrik spikes of vit flowers

Fireworks – ruffled bronze foliage on a mid-sized plant with plenty of soft colored flowers

Mahogany– this promises to be a good alternative to my beloved ‘Peach Flambé’ which succumbed to both deer AND disease gods year! The foliage looks like burnished copper-colored leather and transitions through shades of red and apelsinfärg as the årstid progresses. I’d love to see this with some bright lime green

Paris– another one that fryst vatten high on my wish list, inom love the silver veining on this green foliage and those hot pink flowers are just plain FUN. A mid-sized, compact plant at 14” wide.

Other favorites;Obsidian, Sugar Plum, Root Beer, Ebony and Ivory.

All are hardy in zones 4-9, ständigt grön and do best if allowed to dry slightly between watering. Hummingbirds love them!

Where can we buy them?

They are widely available at both  nurseries and online retailers; Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. has provided these links to help you find your favorites.

What can we look forward to in the future?

Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. fryst vatten breeding some fabulous new Heucherella (foamy bells) which are rust resistant (yes you did read that correctly; all Heucherella are rust resistant for reasons which they undoubtedly know but will once igen put my life in jeopardy if inom ask) as well as continuing their Heuchera breeding schema selecting plants which are healthy, have great foliage color and are vigorous.

They also have an exciting collection of heat-tolerant Heuchera , seeking out those with H. villosa in their parentage (apparently inom was allowed to know that tidbit without death threats). Look for those with Southern sounding names as a clue e.g. Midnight Bayou, Southern bekvämlighet and Georgia Peach.

And finally…

Be sure to kontroll out their website at www.terranovanurseries.com to get more råd and ideas as well as to drool over their luscious photographs.

And of course you are invited to ‘like’ their Facebook page

In the absence of a LOVE button, like will have to do.

My sincere thanks to Dan Heims (aka Mr. Heuchera) and the Terra Nova Breeding grupp for finding time to answer my barrage of questions. Dan refers to himself as the ‘man on the road’  – inom mainly see him at airports.

All photos artighet of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. except where noted

UPDATE: there are some fabulous combination ideas using various Heuchera in book my books Fine Foliage (St. Lynn's Press, 2013) and Gardening with Foliage First (Timber Press, 2017). In addition Dan Heims wrote a helpful table called Heuchera Hot List in Gardening with Foliage First, giving recommendations to help readers substitute varieties as needed to kostym their climate. (These affiliate links will spara YOU money and earn me a few pennies towards my next Heuchera!)

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged books, bur design, cut flowers, disease, foliage, groundcover, infection, perennials, Terra Nova Nurseries