Hairy alumroot

Sun

Partial shade; tolerates deeper shade, but flowers less freely. Morning sun is suitable where soil stays moist; avoid strong afternoon sun in hot climates.

Water

Moderate; keep evenly moist while establishing. Established plants tolerate short dry spells, but prolonged drought can scorch or wither the foliage.

Soil

Humus-rich, well-drained soil, from mildly acidic to neutral. Avoid waterlogged ground, especially in winter.

Height

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m) in leaf; 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) in flower

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Flowers

Late summer into autumn; tiny creamy-white to pale pink flowers in loose, branching sprays.

Foliage

Broad, rounded, lobed green leaves with conspicuous soft hairs on the leaves and stalks. Usually semi-evergreen, retaining more foliage in mild winters and losing it in severe cold.

Growth

Moderate

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.1 ft (0.35 m)

3. After 2 years

   1.3 ft (0.4 m)

4. After 3 years

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the US

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant with the crown at soil level rather than buried.
• Water during the first growing season whenever the upper soil begins to dry.
• Spread leaf mould or compost around plants in spring, keeping it clear of the crown.
• Avoid heavy feeding; a light annual compost dressing is usually sufficient.
• Check after winter frosts and gently reset any crowns lifted out of the soil.
• Divide in spring when clumps become woody, crowded or bare in the centre.

Pruning. Remove dead or badly damaged leaves in early spring without cutting into the crown. Cut spent flower stalks back to the base after flowering, or leave them until spring for seed and winter structure.

Early spring

Remove damaged foliage and check for frost-heaved crowns.

Spring

Plant or divide clumps, water well and add a thin layer of compost or leaf mould.

Summer

Water during extended dry weather and watch for leaf scorch in exposed positions.

Late summer

Enjoy the flower sprays; leave some stems if you want seed.

Autumn

Remove unwanted seedlings and clear any diseased leaves.

Winter

Keep wet leaves and heavy mulch away from the crown, and check that drainage remains clear.

• Plant in groups along shaded paths, where the broad leaves soften hard edges.
• Combine with ferns and sedges in woodland borders for contrasting leaf shapes.
• Use beneath deciduous shrubs where there is filtered light and enough moisture for establishment.
• Place near the front of a shade border, allowing the fine flower stems to rise through neighbouring foliage.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Cottage garden, Wildlife garden, Low-maintenance and Green on green.

Plant it with: Christmas fern, Japanese painted fern, Foamflower, Solomon's seal, Woodland phlox and Pennsylvania sedge.

Wildlife: The small flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other visiting insects. The foliage offers shelter for small invertebrates.

• Crown rot in wet soil: improve drainage, keep the crown exposed and remove plants with soft, rotting crowns.
• Vine weevil larvae, especially in containers: inspect roots if plants wilt or loosen unexpectedly, and use a locally approved biological control when soil temperatures are suitable.
• Leaf scorch during hot, dry weather: provide afternoon shade, water deeply and mulch around, not over, the crown.
• Frost heaving: reset lifted plants in spring and firm soil gently around their roots.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses; no part is generally recognised as poisonous. It is an ornamental rather than a food plant, and eating large amounts may cause digestive upset.

• American alumroot (Heuchera americana)

  Usually has less conspicuously hairy foliage, often with contrasting veins or mottling, and generally flowers earlier. Hairy alumroot has notably hairy leaf stalks and late-season flower sprays.

• Heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

  Has denser, foamy spikes of starry white flowers in spring rather than the loose, branching late-season sprays of hairy alumroot; many forms also spread by runners.

Heuchera honours the German physician and botanist Johann Heinrich von Heucher, while villosa means hairy, referring to the plant's soft hairs.

Propagation. Divide established clumps in spring, keeping healthy rooted sections with growing crowns. Sow ripe seed on the surface of moist seed compost without burying it; seedlings from named cultivars may differ from the parent.

Accepted botanical name

Heuchera villosa

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.