Heucherella Pumpkin Spice - Foamy Bells

Let’s be honest… the descriptor ‘Pumpkin Spice’ is probably overused. Maybe you love it. Maybe you don’t. Let me argue that you should consider adding it to your garden. This version of Heucherella let you get a little taste of fall in the spring. It explodes with bright orange growth that will highlight your hostas, and put a spotlight on your greens. As the seasons turn the orange mellows out and blends into your landscape letting your summer blooms take center stage. Use it to blend the colors of your show-stopper plants together and fill in the shallow areas of your garden near a border or walkway. Silvers, greens, oranges, reds, and purples will have pleasing transitions with this little heucherella tucked into your garden.

Like Heuchera, Heucherella is a great selection for container planting and adding color in garden beds or walkways. In summer tall stems of flowers, that are excellent for cuttings, shoot up from the plant to suspend an array of bell shaded flowers. Sweet Tea is a hybrid between tiarella and H. villosa, giving it excellent heat and humidity tolerance.

Heucherella is a hybrid of the popular North American Heuchera (coral bells) and North American Tiarella (foam flower) combining many of the outstanding characteristics such as deeply lobed leaves, a multitude of colors, and larger size. 

‘Pumpkin Spice’ is a H. villosa hybrid which means that it is naturally more heat and humidity tolerant and also has greater vigor than Heucherellas without such parentage. It forms a very dense mound of interesting foliage that is evergreen in most climates.

Photo Credit: Walters Gardens

General care for any tree or shrub is easy, but like any living thing will require your attention. Please educate yourself and follow these simple rules.

Heucherella Pumpkin Spice - Foamy Bells

Heucherella prefer soil that is well-drained and rich in organic matter. They also require regular moisture, so afternoon shade and mulch will help them thrive. Plant in spring or early summer and like all new plantings water immediately and deeply. Plants in a sunny site, or that are growing during a period of drought will require supplemental moisture so ensure that you water them frequently slowly and deeply when required. Divide plants as needed every three or four years in spring.