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In landscaping not only garden plots, but also urban flower beds, landscape designers widely use a perennial plant – geyhera. Large, spectacular leaves of the culture surprise with their variety of colors, harmoniously combined with each other and other plants. However, blood red geyhera is one of the most attractive, bright species, which, thanks to its color, can completely transform garden design and add a spicy, carmine-rich note to it.
Description of blood red geyhera
Heuchera blood red is an ornamental herbaceous perennial whose leaves are collected in a rosette from 20 to 50 cm high, depending on the species and variety. The shrub has long, graceful peduncles with bright purple flowers. Large, pubescent, leaves are unusually spectacular and decorative, adorn the garden from early spring to late autumn. The plant blooms for quite a long time – almost all summer, with small flowers collected in paniculate inflorescences, located on tall peduncles. Blood red geyhera has no prominent main stems and has a fleshy, vigorous rhizome that can adapt to adverse growing conditions.
Varieties of geyhera blood red
Blood red geyhera are characterized by a green rosette of leaves and a corresponding bright, carmine red, purple, up to burgundy color of flowers. At the beginning of the growing season, the leaves are translucent, but gradually change their color, acquiring an increasingly intense, dark shade. Many blood-red cultivars have serrated, ruffled, or curly leaf textures with white or marbled blotches, further enhancing the culture’s decorative appeal.
Geuchera blood red Coral Forest
The variety forms a rosette of incredibly beautiful, marble-veined green leaves from the earliest spring. They decorate the garden until late autumn. In summer, bright coral flowers appear on strong peduncles, about 30 cm high, which blend harmoniously with the foliage.
Geuchera blood red splendens
Geichera blood-red Splendans is a very large, up to 50 cm in height, beauty, whose green leaves organically set off carmine-red flowers. They are collected in compact inflorescences, surprising with their attractive power during flowering, which lasts from July to August.
Geuchera blood red Leuchtkafer
This is a small-flowered blood-red geyhera with green leaves, up to 40 cm high, with small, red glossy flowers. The duration of its flowering is from early to late summer.
Geuchera blood red Ruby Bells
The height of the Ruby Bells leaf rosette is 25 cm with a height of peduncles – up to 40 cm. Serrated green leaves with a gray, marbled pattern are very attractive. Very small flowers-bells have a rich-bright color, they are collected in elegant inflorescences.
Other varieties
Among the other varieties of blood red geyhera, there are several more popular ones:
- Robusta – large-flowered, with rich red inflorescences, pleasing with their attractiveness in June-July. The leaves become burgundy in autumn;
- Bressingham – a very large culture, the stems of which reach a height of up to 60 cm, and its flowers are not only red, but also white, pink. It blooms in the middle of summer;
- red-leaved – as is clear from the name of the variety, it has a red shade of foliage with a stem height of up to 50 cm. Flowering from June to August;
- Heuchera Forever Red (always red) – refers to the novelties of 2017, the Forever series. This variety is really not just red, but hyper red. The bushes are compact, with a wide crown, of medium size – 20 – 30 cm. The leaves differ not only in “redness”, but also in shape and gloss: carved, with curlyness and brilliance. Heuchera Forever Red, preferring partial shade, is also not capricious towards the sun.
Geichera blood red in landscape design
Blood red geyhera is a favorite of landscape designers, as it is one of the few decorative crops that can diversify the garden with a brightly saturated, color palette of various shades. Of course, additional advantages in the widespread use of blood-red geyhera in the garden landscape are unpretentiousness and preservation of decorative qualities throughout the growing season.
The culture looks great both in single and group plantings – mixed or single. Apply blood-red geykhera for decoration:
- flowerbeds, flower beds, mixborders;
- rockeries and rock gardens;
- coastline of backyard ponds;
- curbs and edges of garden paths.
Blood-red geyhera is planted in near-stem circles of tall tree species, covering empty places; successfully combined with almost all beautifully flowering crops and herbaceous perennials. The composition of dwarf shrubs looks harmonious in combination with blood-red geykhera. You can combine it with hostas, primroses, ornamental grasses, astilbes, brunners.
A flowerbed with early-flowering bulbous crops looks gorgeous, the fragile graceful flowering of which is effectively set off by the bloody geyhera. She will also become an excellent companion to the queen of flowers – the rose. In rock gardens, geyher looks great with conifers, barberries, bluebells. It is widely used by landscape designers in container compositions and single plantings in separate containers. Blood red geyhera flowers can be used for cutting and drying to make dry arrangements.
Growing geyhera from seeds
Geuchera blood red can be easily grown from seeds.
The growing scheme is as follows:
- a drainage layer of expanded clay is poured at the bottom of the container, loose, fertile soil is laid on top from a mixture of humus, peat and sand;
- small seeds of blood-red geyhera are not deepened, but poured on top of moistened soil and sprinkled with sand in very small quantities;
- the container is covered with plastic wrap or glass, periodically airing and moistening a little;
- after 3-4 weeks shoots appear, the film is removed;
- when 2-3 true leaves appear, the seedlings are picked into separate small containers;
- water them moderately, avoiding waterlogging.
Planting and caring for blood red geyhera in the open field
Winter-hardy, unpretentious to growing conditions, the culture feels great in the southern, central regions of the country. But it can also be successfully grown in Siberia, covering it from frost for the winter. Every 4 – 5 years, the bushes require rejuvenation with rhizome division and transplantation, due to the rapid growth rate. Caring for blood-red geyhera is simple – it is undemanding to abundant watering and top dressing. Periodically, it is important to loosen the earth, followed by mulching with bark or peat. Mulching is necessary before wintering.
When growing unpretentious blood-red geykhera, problems can still arise:
- lodging or breaking of long peduncles during the wind, which indicates that it is better to choose a place protected from winds and drafts;
- the growth of the base above the soil level indicates the mandatory annual hilling of the plant;
- root rot due to waterlogging of the soil.
It is worth saying that in a dry summer without watering the bloody geykher will suffer from a lack of moisture. Therefore, the event must be organized correctly.
Site preparation
The place for the blood-red geyhera should be light, with a light, openwork shadow in the sultry midday hours. It is better to plant a plant on the east or west side of the plot. The soil culture prefers loose, neutral, with low acidity. Before planting in acidic soil, chalk, lime, dolomite flour or wood ash must be added. The soil can be mixed with mineral fertilizers and compost.
Rules of landing
At the bottom of the landing pits with a diameter of 30×30, a drainage layer of river sand and fine expanded clay must be laid. Next, the prepared fertile soil is poured and the rhizomes of the blood-red geyhera are deepened until the beginning of the leaf rosette. Fertile soil is added on top, lightly tamped and watered.
Watering and top dressing
Heuchera prefers dry, not waterlogged places and can even withstand a short drought. Water it no more than once a week, avoiding waterlogging of the soil and stagnant water. Otherwise, the root system of the plant will begin to rot.
Top dressing of blood-red geyhera is reduced to a rare application of mineral fertilizers. The dose familiar to other horticultural crops is reduced by 2 times, since overfeeding the plant will lead to the development of diseases. In the first years of life, it takes all the substances necessary for growth and development from the soil.
Trimming
In the spring, wilted and dried leaves are removed. In autumn, pruning is not recommended, since the updated geyher is unlikely to be able to successfully overwinter. After pruning, the soil is spudded and mulched with a mixture of peat, humus and river sand.
Preparation for winter
The plant does not need shelter for the winter in the southern and central regions. But young seedlings, as well as adult bushes, can freeze slightly in especially harsh winters or in Siberian conditions. To avoid this, the bushes are covered with spruce branches or fallen leaves.
A video about caring for geyhera will give even more useful information:
Reproduction
Red geyhera can be propagated in several ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- division of the bush.
About the seed method was mentioned above. Propagation by cuttings comes down to cutting rosettes without roots and digging up a bush. Part of the leaves is removed, and the roots are smeared with a stimulating solution. Planted cuttings are covered with plastic wrap, making a mini-greenhouse. Regularly moisten and ventilate the cuttings. The cuttings are ready for transplanting to a permanent place in a month.
In May or August, blood-red geyhera can be planted by dividing the bush. The abundantly spilled plant is dug up and the rhizome is divided into separate parts with a sharp knife. On each division, healthy, young roots and a formed leaf rosette are left. Seedlings are immediately planted in a permanent place, preventing the root system from drying out.
Diseases and pests
Blood red geyhera, like other varieties of the culture, is resistant to pests and diseases. However, improper agricultural practices, excessive soil moisture and a large amount of organic matter can provoke the following troubles:
- powdery mildew;
- spotting;
- the appearance of slugs.
Special tools are used to control pests and diseases. Damaged parts of the blood-red geyhera plant are removed, and in case of severe damage, the bushes are completely eliminated.
Conclusion
Heuchera blood red is an excellent choice for every grower to decorate their own backyard. A variety of varieties allows you to select the most suitable ones, depending on the overall design of the landscape and the neighbors nearby, which will most favorably emphasize the delightful charm of geyhera in mixed garden compositions.