Growing Heuchera (Coral Bells): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 20, 2026
Heuchera is grown for leaf colour that holds most of the year, in a range from lime green through caramel to something close to black.
The crown lifts itself out of the ground
This is the failure mode to know about. Over two or three years the woody crown pushes itself upward out of the soil, the plant looks increasingly loose and hollow in the middle, and it dies back in a hard winter because the crown is exposed.
The fix is to lift it, discard the old woody base, and replant the rosettes deeper. Doing that every few years keeps a plant going indefinitely.
Sun tolerance varies
NC State Extension lists full sun, partial shade and dappled sunlight. In practice the darker-leaved cultivars hold their colour better with some direct light, and the lime and caramel ones scorch in it. Another case where the label matters.
Sizes
One to three feet tall in flower, one to one and a half feet across. Hardy zones 4 through 9. Flowers April to August on wiry stems well above the foliage.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Heuchera americana.
Companion planting guide for Heuchera (Coral Bells) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 4-9. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 1-3 ft
Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. It doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.
When to plant heuchera (coral bells), by zone
Every zone heuchera (coral bells) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4a & 4b | Not usually | May 1–May 8 | First real harvest the season after planting |
| 5a & 5b | Not usually | Apr 26–May 3 | First real harvest the season after planting |
| 6a & 6b | Not usually | Apr 11–Apr 18 | First real harvest the season after planting |
| 7a & 7b | Not usually | Mar 27–Apr 3 | First real harvest the season after planting |
| 8a & 8b | Not usually | Mar 11–Mar 18 | First real harvest the season after planting |
| 9a & 9b | Not usually | Feb 1–Feb 8 | First real harvest the season after planting |
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Heuchera (Coral Bells) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-3 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- Citronelle (best for: chartreuse foliage): The highest-rated heuchera in Mt. Cuba Center's three-year trial of 83 cultivars, at 4.7 out of 5. Its electric-yellow spring leaves fade to bright chartreuse, it kept a dense, even mound, and it bleached less than any other chartreuse cultivar in the trial. It's still a shade plant: keep it out of strong sun. (source)
- Caramel (best for: warm-toned foliage in shade): Rated 4.4 in Mt. Cuba Center's heuchera trial, with fuzzy peach leaves that age to pale orange-yellow and a good, durable habit through the season. It needs part to full shade: in Mt. Cuba's sun trial it burned and lost the peach tones it's grown for. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy heuchera seeds
True Leaf Market (each supplier's heuchera seeds)
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing heuchera (coral bells)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Heuchera (Coral Bells): Near-evergreen foliage from lime to near-black, with the flowers a thin afterthought, plus the crown-lift problem that eventually kills it.
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