Heucherella Eye Spy

The 'Eye Spy' Heucherella is a pretty, compact ground cover in the undergrowth. Its semi-evergreen chartreuse green foliage, with brown-red veins, is topped in late spring with numerous candy pink, very fluffy stems. It appreciates light and humus-rich soils, in shade or part shade, and also grows very well in pots.

Heucherellas are the result of cross-breeding between heucheras, from which they inherit their robustness, and tiarellas, from which they retain their beautiful cut foliage and long flowering. They all belong to the botanical family Saxifragaceae. 'Eye Spy' Heucherella has a very attractive deeply cut foliage, which emerges golden yellow and slowly turns chartreuse green. The center of the leaf and the veins are strongly marked with red pink, evolving into beautiful shades of burgundy over time, giving them a very graphic two-tone appearance. Between May and July, the plant produces multiple light and fluffy flowering stems, in a pretty candy pink, quite rare in these plants. The plant forms a compact and tidy cushion, reaching about 30 cm (12in) in height and width. In autumn, the foliage often takes on beautiful bronze hues and frequently persists if the winter is not too harsh.

'Eye Spy' Heucherella slowly spreads through its rhizomes in part shade, making it an ally in humus-rich, not too heavy, and especially well-drained soil, and also allows occasional division. However, it is not invasive. These are the conditions that can be found in the undergrowth, at the foot of bushes for example, and it can also withstand short periods of drought once well established. In heavy soil, its longevity may be compromised. In this case, you can regularly add dead leaves to improve your soil.

Planted en masse, it will form a beautiful carpet alongside Heucheras (which belong to the same family) such as 'Black Beauty' Heuchera or 'Beaujolais', other ground covers such as 'Stiletto' Hosta, 'Majestic' Liriope, or European wild ginger, as well as ferns like 'Cycadina' Dryopteris. It can also be grown in pots, in a rich, well-draining substrate that does not dry out too much.