Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ (left) and Heuchera americana ‘Dale’s Strain’ (right) after I brought them home on 5-25-24, #993-2.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’

HEW-ker-a san-GWIN-ee-a

I brought this Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ home from Wagler’s Greenhouse on May 25 in 2024 along with a Heuchera americana ‘Dale’s Strain’. Of course, I brought home a few other plants as well.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 5-25-24, #993-4.

When I was at the greenhouse, there were hundreds of Heuchera to choose from, but there were only a few that had tags. Most of the plants looked exactly alike, but I choose a couple whose tags said Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ and Heuchera americana ‘Dale’s Strain’. Unfortunately, when I arrived home and started taking photos, both had ‘Coral Forest’ tags. Well, I think a lot of tags were mixed up. I went back to the greenhouse to get a proper tag. Some plants had tags that said ‘Firefly’. Upon some research, I think I figured it out.

Now, I realized the leaves would change somewhat once the plants were planted in the bed on the north side of the house. Plenty of good soil, fresh air, and more room for their roots to spread so they can grow.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 6-12-24, #996-12.

After a while, the leaves of ‘Coral Forest’ started changing color… The small chartreuse leaves meandering through the flower bed belong to a Creeping Jenny called Lysimachia nummularia ‘Goldilocks’.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 6-12-24, #996-13.

USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Saxifragaceae
Origin: Seed grown cultivar.
Zones: 4a-9b (-30 to 25° F)
Size: 18” tall x 8” + wide, flower height 16” +
Spacing: 12-15” apart
Light: Sun to part shade
Soil: Rich, moist, well-drained soil
Water: Average. Prefers moist soil but not wet.
Flowers: red
Propagation: From division after three years.
Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 7-5-24, #1000-14.

The Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ made it through the summer with flying colors despite a little neglect now and then.

<<<<2025>>>>

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 4-9-25, #1034-8.

All the plants in the bed north of the house made it through the winter. Depending on the winter (and climate they are grown in) and cultivar, Heuchera can be semi-evergreen. None of the Heuchera completely died back over the 2024-2025 winter which I was very glad of. Plus, I didn’t have a problem with the moles digging under their roots over the winter. I lost several Heuchera and Hosta in the old shade bed because of them.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 4-21-25, #1038-17.

Although information suggests they do well in full sun to part shade, I have found their leaves burn in to much light. I prefer light to part shade and where I grow them they get a combination of both, depending on the time of the summer.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 4-29-25, #1039-10.

In mild winters, their leaves will remain evergreen but in cold winters they will completely die back. They are sensitive to frost heaving like Hosta, so you may need to mulch your Heuchera AFTER the ground freezes. This will help keep there ground froze somewhat. Continual freezing and thawing will heave their roots up losing contact with the soil. They don’t need much mulch, though, because they still need good drainage over the winter.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 5-22-25, #1045-17.

On 5-22-25 when the above photo was taken, the mound of leaves was 10 1/2″ tall…

Heuchera only require a little maintenance. Trim off dead or damaged leaves in the spring and throughout the summer. Deadhead spent flowers to keep them looking tidy.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 5-22-25, #1045-18.

Although they do like consistently moist soil, they do not want it overly wet. They become fairly drought tolerant once established.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 5-22-25, #1045-19.

On 5-22-25 when the above photo was taken, the mound of leaves was 10 1/2″ tall and the tallest flowering stem was 31″ tall.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 5-23-25, #1046-10.

Information online says Heuchera are short-lived unless they are divided every 3-4 years.

Always plant them at the same soil live as they grew in to avoid burying the crown.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 5-23-25, #1046-11.

Nice leaf!

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 5-23-25, #1046-12.

I was really impressed by the flowers of the Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’. They start flowering early and continued over the summer.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 6-12-25, #1056-9.

They also keep producing new leaves throughout the summer.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 6-12-25, #1056-10.

The flowers last a long time…

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 6-20-25, #1062-17.

Once flowering was complete, I removed the flowering stems to tidy them up a bit. The flowers Heuchera americana ‘Dale’s Strain’ more or less fizzled out sooner than Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’. The other Heuchera cultivars are to the left of these two and there are Hosta behind them.

Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ on 6-20-25, #1062-18.

I was really impressed with the performance of the Heuchera sanguinea ‘Coral Forest’ and highly recommend this cultivar.

If you want, you can visit my Heuchera home page with a list of the Heuchera I have grown and more links for further reading bu clicking HERE.

As of 3-2-26 when I finished this page, all the Heuchera are doing fine and ready to pick up where they left off.

I hope you enjoyed this page and perhaps found it useful. If you have any questions or comments, I would like to hear from you. Click on the like if you can as it helps us bloggers stay motivated.