How to choose a Tiarella or a Heucherella?

According to the colour of the foliage

Tiarellas and Heucherellas are grown for their foliage, often evergreen, with beautiful colours:

• purple-marbled green in Heucherella ‘Tapestry’;
• silver-variegated green in Heucherella ‘Kimono’;
• copper-red veined with denser red in Heucherella ‘Redstone Fall’;
• light green with dark red veins and a red heart in Heucherella ‘Citrus Shock’;
• yellow to acid green marbled with rust in Heucherella ‘Stoplight’.

Some foliage changes colour throughout the seasons:

• Heucherella ‘Kimono’ which changes from variegated green and silver leaves to purple-brown;
• Heucherella ‘Redstone Fall’ which turns copper, reddish-brown to cinnamon from the first days of autumn;
• Heucherella ‘Alabama Sunrise’ with aged leaves that turn pink-orange;
• Heucherella ‘Solar Eclipse’ with leaves that change from red-brown margined with golden yellow to black and pistachio green in autumn;
• Tiarella wherryi, with green foliage veined in brown that turns purple-bronze in autumn and winter.

For gardeners who dare to explore stunning colours, here are some Heucherella varieties to discover:

• ‘Copper Cascade’ with light green foliage veined in burgundy that fluctuates with temperature and seasonal changes. It can turn cinnamon, copper-orange, and then finish the year in rosy red;
• ‘Berry Fizz’, with dark purple foliage, a rare sight in the garden;
• ‘Onyx’, with almost intense black foliage.

For collecting gardeners, here are some new arrivals:

• Heucherella ‘Redstone Fall’, with copper-red foliage;
• Heucherella ‘Red Rover’ features large leaves in purple veined with red in spring, olive green tinged with purple in summer, and red in winter;
• Tiarella ‘Running Tiger’, showcasing dark green foliage.

Here are some examples of foliage. On the left: Heucherella ‘Spotlight’, in the centre: Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’, and on the right: Heucherella ‘Solar Power’

According to the colour of the flowers

Tiarellas, like Heucherellas, bring lightness to the garden with their stunning airy white or pink flowerings. These small flowers emerge along upright stems to form spectacular feathery spikes.

• For pink flowering varieties, dare to choose Heucherella ‘Tapestry’, ‘Kimono’, alba ‘Bridget Bloom’, ‘Alabama Sunrise’, ‘Copper Cascade’, ‘Eye Spy’, or Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’.
• For white flowering varieties, from pure to cream white, choose Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’, ‘Solar Eclipse’, ‘Citrus Shock’, ‘Honey Rose’, or Tiarellas cordifolia, cordifolia ‘Moorgrun’, or wherryi, with slightly fragrant spikes, which are rare in this family of plants. Mix foliage and flower colours to create stunning atmospheres!

Ethereal flowerings: pink with Heucherella ‘Eye Spy’ and white with Tiarella ‘Appalachian Trail’

According to the flowering period

With Heucherellas and Tiarellas, you can enjoy a long-lasting flowering period from April to August, depending on the varieties grown.

For early flowerings from April to June, choose:

• Heucherella ‘Tapestry’,
• Heucherella ‘Kimono’,
• Heucherella ‘Bridget Bloom’,
• Tiarella cordifolia

For flowerings that extend over several months, here are some wonders such as:

• Heucherella ‘Eye Spy’, Tiarella wherryi, or ‘Pink Skyrocket’ which will bloom from May to July;
• Heucherella ‘Brass Lantern’® which is covered in flower spikes from June to August;
• Tiarella ‘Appalachian Trail’ which bears white spikes from May to August;
• Heucherella ‘Berry Fizz’ which is covered in small pink flowers from April to July.

Multiply the varieties to stagger the flowerings that will emerge from foliage in stunning colours.

For what purpose?

Heucherellas and tiarellas thrive in semi-shaded to shaded areas with a cool, moist atmosphere. They can be found in shady rockeries, wooded environments such as understorey beds, beneath trees, or at the forest edge, as riverside plants. They also grow easily in a container or pot on a terrace.

Play with heights that range from 20 to 60 cm when not in flower, including:

• Tiarella cordifolia, Tiarella cordifolia ‘Moorgrun’, Heucherella ‘Red Rover’, Heucherella ‘Onyx’, Heucherella ‘Cracked Ice’ which reach about 20 cm in height;
•  the Heucherella ‘Kimono’ or the Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’, two larger specimens measuring between 40 and 60 cm in height.

Another criterion to consider is the habit of the tiarella or heucherella to determine their use in the garden:

• with its long stems, the Heucherella ‘Alabama Sunrise’ is perfect for cut flowers;
• with their trailing silhouettes, Tiarella ‘Appalachian Trail’ and Heucherella ‘Copper Cascade’ will create beautiful cascading displays from hanging baskets;
• with their bushy, tufted habit, perennials like Heucherella ‘Buttered Rum’, ‘Berry Fizz’, ‘Brass Lantern’®, ‘Cracked Ice’ or Tiarella ‘Spring Symphony’ will take on their full stature;
• with their running rhizomes, Tiarella cordifolia ‘Moorgrun’ or Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’ will form beautiful flowering carpets;
• with stolons, like those of strawberries, Heucherella ‘Redstone Fall’ or Tiarella ‘Running Tiger’ will spread to form groundcover carpets.

Depending on the chosen height and habit, you can create vibrant flower beds by combining them with hostas, hardy geraniums, and astilbes. Grow them alongside ferns to play with textures and foliage colours. Create spring scenes by pairing them with seasonal bulbs and flowering shrubs like hydrangeas or camellias. Consider enhancing the airy touch of the flowers with bleeding hearts, lungworts, or filipendulas.

In borders, hanging, isolated or combined, Tiarellas and Heucherellas have a prime place in the garden: Heucherella ‘Brass Lantern’, Heucherella ‘Redstone Falls’, Tiarella cordifolia and Heucherella ‘Cracked Ice’