Plant Patent #15,085. With leaves like these, who needs blooms? 'Frosted Violet' is the most colorful Coral Bells yet, and that's saying A LOT. From spring through fall these large, many-fingered, cup-shaped leaves of brilliant burgundy-violet (scored with deeper purple veins!) glow in the sunny to partly shaded garden, and in early summer they're topped by big clusters of tiny pink and white blooms that look for all the world like seed pearls. If there's a more colorful plant, I demand to know what it is!
This foliage is just over-the-top gorgeous, glowing from across the garden on plants 12 to 15 inches high and about 15 to 18 inches wide. The red and purple tones become more pronounced in cool weather, so your spring and fall display is really spectacular, but the leaves never green out or get wishy-washy in summer ? even in climates where the heat and humidity is punishing!
The other fantastic advantage of this Coral Bells is that, unlike some others, it is really vigorous. No coddling necessary ? quite the opposite, in fact! Deer leave it alone, but bees and butterflies find it irresistible, so you'll bring good critters to the garden and discourage the bad with this easy-to-grow beauty! Use it as a groundcover to flow around other plants such as Ferns, and Hostas in the partly shaded garden ('Frosted Violet' appreciates relief from afternoon sun, particularly in southern climates). Or set it in your best container as a show-off specimen ? 'Frosted Violet' is certainly beautiful enough to be the star of any setting!
Coral Bells thrives in any ordinary garden soil provided it's well-drained. The more moisture you can give it the first few seasons, the better it will flourish. That's really all there is to growing this happy-go-lucky foliage treasure! Resistant to heat, humidity, and cold, this perennial is a joy! Zones 4-9.
