Plant Patent #18,173. PVR.Whether you prefer the large, handsome amber-silver foliage or the generous sprays of bubbly ginger-yellow and pale pink blooms, 'Ginger Ale' will win you over with its never-before-seen color and easy adaptability in the shade border or container. Find a special place for this exciting Dan Heims introduction, and prepare for a spring-through-fall show of unusual, beautiful color.
The foliage reaches 5 inches across, rounded and softly lobed, with good veining. The base is amber (visible on the reverse, shot with coral accents) and the overlay a silvery sheen, so that the veining is darker and the edges of each leaf are lighter. It keeps this color through summer, refusing to green out even in extreme heat and humidity.
From mid- to late spring, this plant is topped by dozens of tall, very slender 22-inch stems boasting a froth of tiny bell-shaped blooms. These range from pale pink to a shade of gingery-yellow, all utterly unique and more new additions to the color range of the Heuchera family. Enjoy them on the plant or cut them for a closer admiration in the vase; they are long-lasting and charming.
'Ginger Ale' is happiest in part to full shade, but some sunlight is necessary to bring out its best colors. It is a dense, mounding plant, forming overlapping layers of foliage that remain lush and full through autumn. Reaching just a foot high (when not in bloom) and about 16 inches wide, it's a comfortable size for containers as well as the border, and complements just about every other foliage color brilliantly. Best in well-drained, enriched soil, especially as it's becoming established in your garden; once it has made itself at home, you will find it remarkably tolerant of poor fertility, drought, heat, and humidity.
Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nurseries introduced this plant during what he calls his "food and beverage phase" of cultivar naming. 'Ginger Ale' perfectly describes both the glistening, changeable color of this plant and the effervescence of its light-as-air little bells. Do create a place for this very special Heuchera in your shady garden this season! Zones 4-9.
