2008 Humungous Heuchera Hoedown

OK, I confess! That title was just meant to get your attention!

A few people on this forum have expressed some interest in doing a Group Heuchera Swap. I'll be organizing it, even though I probably cannot participate due to no guarantee that my swap would get past the Department of Homemade Security. Based on the input received so far, I propose to take names and offers of plants to trade up until 7 September. I will then set up the swaps and hope everyone will send their plants out about 15 September.

This will be a sort of Round Robin Swap: i.e. instead of Sue and I swap, H and Emma swap, Mary and Jane swap, etc., it might be I send to Sue who sends to H who sends to Emma who sends to Mary who sends to Jane who sends to me.

I'd ask each participant to put up at least 2 plants (or rooted cuttings with at least 4-5 leaves). They could be from your own garden or "bought in" plants (because some people can find some heucheras easily in their area and not others). Anything less than 2 plants is probably not worth the postage.

I need each participant to first of all send 3 lists:
1. Heucheras you will offer to trade
2. Heucheras you really want
3. Heucheras you do NOT want

Those should be posted on this thread.

I would then "match up" participants to do the swap. We could take Canadian participants if we had at least 2 and European participants (like me) if there were at least 2.

This should help expand our individual heuchera collections as well as provide us all some fun and friendship.

Any takers?

Potagere

This message was edited Aug 13, 2008 9:18 AM

I would like to participate in this. I do have an idea how this works - I used to participate in Round Robins with seeds.

I am in!!!

Hi, Carolyn and bisa80! Glad to have you be the first to sign on! Would you prefer to do this now, or wait until October? Please let me know!

Either way, we have been having some cool weather right now in our area or the plants should ship well.

OK. Well, let's see how many people we can get to participate! Tell your friends!
I have started putting together a list of heucheras I will have for trade if it works out that I can participate as well as organizing. I have a lovely 'Palace Purple', 'Brizoides Pluie de Feu (Rain of Fire)', 'Can Can', probably 'Mint Frost' and 'Midnight Rose', and possibly 'Ginger Ale'. I also have a lovely unnamed bronze with silver veining that is anxious to be divided. When it stops raining, I'll get a photo of that one. For now, here's the 'Pluie de Feu'.

Potagere

I'm in! I think it would be good to organize it now and swap mid-September. I think going into October is pushing it (at least in my zone) to get them rooted good for winter. Thanks for taking the initiative to get this going!

Potagere,

Several of your varieties are speaking to me..... they are telling me that they want to come to my house to live.

I can get rooted cuttings of:

Hollywood
Sashay
Heucherella Dayglow
Crimson Curls
Key Lime Pie.

I might be able to eek out a Sparkling Burgundy and a Plum Pudding. I'll have to let you know definitely about these two.

September is probably better for me than October.

OK Potagere I am in!
I have Venus, Sparkling potagere, Mocha, Pinot Gris, citronelle, midnight rose I can get rooted cuttings from.

I would like to trade for Sashay, Can-can, obsidian, amethyst mist, Paris and green spice.

September would be a good month to trade.
Rosalie

~truongr: You are very funny: "Sparkling potagere"!!! That would be one I would have to have!

~Carolyn: I don't know if I will actually be able to participate, As you see, I live in France, so I could only send plants to someone willing to take the chance that they might be intercepted and could only receive plants from someone willing to send to France. But maybe we'll get other European participants.

Since those of you who want to participate are saying September, I will edit the into to this accordingly and count on getting all names and offers to trade by 7 September, giving me a chance to organize the trades before I go on home leave. Hope to have people mailing out by 15 September!

I hope that sounds workable to those already signed up.

Potagere

Potagere,

If we have to wait for October for you to participate, then by all means I think we should. Its not right that you do this and are not able to recieve. I understand you are in France - I guess I didn't really think about that, because I send things overseas all the time for my line of work, however, never have I sent plants. When are you returning and will you be back permanently after that date?

Carolyn

Oops Potagere, that was a complete Freudian slip. I meant Sparkling Burgundy!

And Potagere you are correct about shipping to the US from France. All plants will be tossed ! Americans however can ship anything out to France. Too bad Pluie de Feu is a beautiful name.

If we get people who are willing to take the chance with me, I'll send my plants in September and ask anyone sending to me to send mine after 5 October (which means they will get here about the same day I do). I think we just need to try this, and medinac is right about needing time to get plants rooted in the colder zones. In my case, unless anything I receive is hugem it will overwinter in pots in the greenhouse, anyway! If this one works, there are enough Heuchera fans in DG to make this a regular event!

Ah, well, Sparkling Burgundy is one of the plants I really want!
I do know that poorly labelled iris corms have been known to make it to US destinations!

Count me in. I am out of town at the moment so don't remember all my varieties. Are we going to include Heucherellas or just confine the swap to only Heucheras?

My plants are all in pots (can't plant in ground due to predation by fierce rabbits) so I can ship anytime but I need to receive in September because I am zone 5a.

Felisa

Felisa,

We could include Heucherellas and even Tiarellas if people are interested in those as well. Why not?

Then I may include some Heucherellas and Tiarellas on my list as alternatives. If someone does not want to get any of the 'ellas then maybe they could indicate that on their list.

Felisa

Sounds good! I guess I better not pair you up with medinac, huh? You 2 could swap across the fence!

For those interested, here is a photo of my unnamed Heuchera. I bought this mail order as 'Caramel', which even someone with impaired vision can see it is not! I don't know WHAT it really is, and my digital camera in the full light of day does not accurately capture the subtleties of its coloration. Although it is not what I paid for, I am extremely fond of it, AND it grows without burning or hesitation in full sun all day!

We are doing well!!

In only 2 days, we have 5 participants (6, if I can fit in!):

Carolyn22
bisa80
medinac
truongr
frahnzone5

Can we get some photos from some of you? For example, I have never seen Sashay, Hollywood or Heucherella Dayglow; and I'd love to see photos of truongr's Sparkling Burgundy and Venus. I love those 2 but have never seen one "in person".

Here's my 'Midnight Rose', another one I love for it's ability to tolerate a lot of sun and just because, with its almost black leaves with the vibrant pink speckles, it's beautiful!

I hope this goes well and we decide to do it again next year. By then my baby plants should be big enough to spare some cuttings.

Gary

Felisa,

I love Heucherellas and Tiarellas! Not a problem for me!

Carolyn

Gary,
I hope so, too!
What babies do you have?
Potagere

Potagere - Do you want our lists on this thread?

Here's my Palace Purple.
Grown in full sun, all day, all its life.
4 years old, it's ready to send shoots off to new homes.

Yes, please, medinac. That will let everyone know what's on offer as well as what is wanted!

I know you have some really nice ones!

Are you and frahnzone5 neighbours?

Yes, we are neighbors. It's too funny, we are only across a highway from each other. Probably 1/4 mile at most! I will get my list together.

Next year I'll have Ginger Ale, Caramel, Marmalade, Paris, Sashay, and Tiramisu if they all make it through the winter.

I'm contemplating buying a Can Can as I type.

Gary

You've some nice varieties, Gary! Ant photos?

Three of the varieties, Marmalade Paris and Sashay, were purchased last weekend and should arrive by Saturday. I guess I can't honestly say I have six varieties, then, can I?

Here are the bulk of the ones I have in my "Pump" Garden. The yellow spot (at the 6 position) is Tiramisu. Counterclockwise are three Ginger Ales followed by a Caramel. The other plants are Butterfly weeds (A. tuberosa) and Endless Summer Hydrangeas.

Smallest GA and half of the smaller Caramel. Photos taken last Saturday evening.

These are the Caramel and Tiramisu in the Memorial Garden by the garage. The plant on the right is a lungwort. At least this T is showing some chartreuse color and red veining.

Gary,

Your 3rd plant in from the left - do you think it will be ok during the winter? The reason I ask this is because I have 2 this size and I was thinking of lifing them and bringing them inside and letting them winter in my greenhouse.

Your thoughts?

Thanks
Carolyn

That's my largest Tiramisu. I can cover it with my hand.

I haven't decided whether to bring my T's in or cover with a styrofoam box and mulch until spring. I am not fond of transplanting plants too often. IMO, it weakens them. I thought Tiramisu would do well in partial shade but mine haven't. This one gets two hours of early morning sun and three hours of evening sun. The other one gets sun from 9 to 11 and again from 3 till sunset. It is in shade during the hottest part of the day. My Ginger Ales and Caramel out there are doing well. So is the Caramel with this T.

This is my T in the Pump garden. It hasn't grown at all since I got it the end of June.

Gary,

whats' the deal? Same thing with my 2. One I got in a co-op - don't know if it is Miracle or Huecherella Stoplight and the other is Peach Melba, which I have had 2 years and never seems to get any bigger.

Thoughts?

Carolyn

I'm wondering if I've got the crown below the dirt line. Then I added two inches of mulch. I'm reading a lot of people have trouble with the light green varieties. Mine are planted in fresh from a bag soil in black loamy dirt so I doubt if nutrition is a problem. They get watered along with everything else.

Other than that I haven't got a clue.

I like your pump garden, Gary!

I lost my sole Tiramisu to too much sun. It was growing really well in a small pot with sun all morning, but when I planted it out, it suffered terribly, So I repotted it and put it in more shade, and it never really recovered before a helpful family member decided it needed more sun and moved the pot and that was the end!

I almost forgot! Here's my Can Can.

Thanks, Potagere. It would be better if the pump actually worked. That would save me from loading buckets of water in the truck to give them a drink.

Nice Can Can. I saw one for $6.50 and am tempted to buy it rather than a second Sashay. Then again, I have Plan B which includes buying both. Yeah, I'm addicted. LOL

I find Tiramisu very sun sensitive. This one gets sun from 12-2 and 6-7 and has some burnt spots. I have moved to where it does not get the late afternoon sun. We'll see.
Potagere, I need to revise my Robin Round list to exclude Amethyst mist which I already have. What I need is Can-can, sashay, French Quarters, obsidian, paris ,green spice.
Thanks for organizing this trade.
Here's a picture of slightly burnt Tiramisu.

Here's a picture of Sparkling BURNGUNDY not Potagere. I planted two in a pot for a photo contest which I never entered. It's not a great picture. Under the right condition, I have actually seen it a shimmering sparkly silver mauve color in a nursery.

Thanks for the photos, truongr! No problem with changing your list. I'm making notes as the lists come in and will confirm with everyone before setting up the actual trades!