Alumroot
Heuchera americana
The tough evergreen native behind hundreds of coral bells hybrids. Airy greenish-white flower sprays draw hummingbirds, and deer leave it alone.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 AM – 2 PM
The wild ancestor of all coral bells cultivars. more ecologically valuable than its hybrid descendants, genuinely evergreen, and tough enough for dry shade where hybrids fail.
American Alumroot is the species from which hundreds of hybrid heuchera cultivars descended: the tough, adaptable, long-lived eastern woodland native that breeders used as a foundation for decades of showy coral bells. The straight species is less colorful than its cultivated offspring but more ecologically valuable, with genuinely evergreen foliage that supports the native insects the hybrid cultivars can't. The greenish-white flower sprays are delicate, airy, and beloved by hummingbirds. The leaves are variable in the wild: some individuals show lovely silver mottling and dark veining, others are plainer green. All are tough, attractive, and semi-evergreen through most winters. This is the native plant that all those flashy coral bells are trying to be: adaptable, deer resistant, and genuinely functional in the woodland garden ecosystem.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown alumroot propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Dry
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft · 12–18 in wide
- Bloom time
- May–June
- USDA zones
- 4–9
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America. rocky woods, bluffs, and ledges from Connecticut to Michigan south to Georgia and Alabama
Care notes for alumroot.
Plant in partial to full shade in moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil. Tolerates dry shade once established. Divide every three to four years in fall when the crown heaves above the soil surface. replant divisions with the crown slightly below ground level. The species is more heat and humidity tolerant than many hybrid heucheras. Long-lived with minimal maintenance in the right location.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside alumroot.
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