Coral Bells 'Caramel' (Heuchera villosa) alongside Bleecker street sidewalk of #3 Washington Square Village.

NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week--August 16, 2011
Coral Bells 'Caramel' (Heuchera villosa) alongside Bleecker street sidewalk of #3 Washington Square Village

NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week
Coral Bells 'Caramel' (Heuchera villosa) alongside Bleecker street sidewalk of #3 Washington Square Village.
Tuesday August 16, 2011

I first saw this cultivar of Coral Bells in Piet Udolf's wonderful Bosque Gardens in Battery Park, home to some of the finest public perennial gardens anywhere. Since our new garden at #3 Washington Square Village is also underneath London Planetrees, just like the Bosque Gardens, this striking cultivar of Coral Bells was a natural choice. The apricot-colored foliage of Heuchera 'Caramel' brightens up a shaded area and contrasts so effectively with other perennials. Once established, this hybrid introduced from France a few years back is quite tolerant of heat, humidity, and dry shade as its parentage includes the southeastern US native Heuchera villosa. While Coral Bells produce cream colored flowers in midsummer, they are mostly prized for their great foliage which plant breeders have now created in a wide variety of colors from electric green to dark purple. These plants are easy to grow and their low mounding habit makes them effective as front of the border accents or edging plants along walks and in containers.

Previous Plants of the Week:

Purslane
August 9, 2011
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) can be found in various garden areas and containers around NYU.

Feather Reedgrass
August 2, 2011
Feather Reedgrass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster') in the triangle at the corner of Mercer Street and Bleecker Street.

Panicle Hydrangea
July 26, 2011
Panicle Hydrangea 'Limelight' (Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight') on the Bleecker Street side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Cutleaf Coneflower
July 19, 2011
Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia lacinata) north of the entrance to the Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Rose Mallow
July 12, 2011
Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) on the Bleecker Street side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Dense Blazing Star
July 5, 2011
Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) in Mercer Plaza, 251 Mercer Street.

Wild Bergamot
June 28, 2011
Wild Bergamot (Monarda spp.) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Hearts of Gold Redbud
June 21, 2011
Hearts of Gold Redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold') in the west section of the Bleecker Street sidewalk at #3 Washington Square Village.

Russian Sage
June 15, 2011
Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) in the middle section of the Bleecker Street sidewalk between #3 and #4 Washington Square Village.

Oakleaf Hydrangea
June 8, 2011
Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in the lobby garden at #3 Washington Square Village.

Wild Indigo
May 31, 2011
Wild Indigo (Baptisia Australis) in Mercer Plaza, 251 Mercer Street.

Arkansas Blue Star
May 24, 2011
Arkansas Blue Star (Amsonia hubrichtii) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer St.

Sunny Knock Out Rose
May 17, 2011
Sunny Knock Out Rose (Rosa 'Radsunny') at 251 Mercer St.

Red Ruby Swiss Chard
May 10, 2011
Red Ruby Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris 'Ruby Chard') sidewalk planters on Greene Street between W 4th Street and Washington Place.

Wild Columbine
May 3, 2011
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) at Founders Hall, 120 East 12th St.

Japanese Flowering Cherry
April 25, 2011
Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata), or 'Kwanzan,' on the Bleecker Street side of Cole Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Saucer Magnolia
April 19, 2011
Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana)

Daffodil
April 12, 2011
Daffodil (Narcissus spp.) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.

Lenten Rose
April 5, 2011
Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.

Camellia
March 29, 2011
Camellia 'April Remembered' (Camellia japonica 'April Remembered') at Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Japanese Maple
Mar 22, 2011
Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku') at Glucksman Ireland House

Hamamelis
Mar 18, 2011
NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week---Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) at #2 Washington Square Village Lobby Garden. (interior of Washington Square Village, W 3rd Street just west of Mercer)

Crocus Species
Mar 8, 2011
Crocus species mix on Bleecker Street side of NYU Coles Sports Center

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