I saw people were trading around...didn't know how to get in on that, but I wanted to say if anyone wants this one, I'd trade. It isn't working for me. I planted it in a place where I thought I could test it for both sun and shade. Potentially I could give it up to 5 hours sun. Or total shade, depending on whether I allowed the large daylily overarching it to cover it or not.
Well I tried it both ways, and it didn't seem to like either. Lastly I'm trying it in the 'heuchera corner' where all of them seem to thrive. if it doesn't like it there, would anyone like to trade?
What it's doing, it's very small, tiny leaves, like an inch and a half to two inches, and it's losing outside leaves instead of growing. there are still a LOT of leaves but they're all miniscule. Is melting fire supposed to be a miniature?!
Melis
My melting fire's melting! Also shrinking! And frustrating!
Melis - if it's of any comfort to you I have Creme Brulee and Snow Angel growing smaller each year.
Good luck.
Not a comfort, exactly, but interesting. I bought two snow angels this year. First one was, I believe getting too much light in a spot that got 5 hours of late afternoon sun, so I moved it to a place where it gets a couple hours morning light, and maybe one afternoon (complicated microclimates) I then bought a second one, from the same Lowe's, same batch of plants, but this one the store had been growing under one of those artificial shade cloths, and the store one was a LOT bigger. So whatever Lowe's was doing it liked a lot better than what I was doing. So I made sure they were in bright shade only--no direct sun, and daily watering. It perked up.
This is the spot I've put the incredible shrinking MF. We'll see.
I have a couple of heuchera that don't seem to like the microclimate I have them in. One is Peach Flambe and the other is Georgia Peach ( must be some curse with the peach name). Anyway, the larger leaves have wilted since planting and new smaller leaves have emerged. I've tried replanting Georgia Peach in a less sunny area and it seems to have regrown smaller leaves. I think some of these heucheras really need more TLC than others. When I replanted Gergia Peach I amended my clayish soil with peat moss, some manure and hoped for the best. Sometimes, it's a challenge to find just the right condition for the right heuchera but that's the fun of gardening.
I ordered a full plug tray of melting fire this spring. I have had success with almost all of the plants, however there are about 3 out of the thirty that are about 1" tall and do not want to grow. The rest are lovely! I have them both in a mix - some in sun and some in shade, and they are all growing about the same speed. I do believe this is a smaller variety of Heuceras...it will not get as big as a purple palace or caramel. This plant has tight leaves, not very airy, and keeps a small compact mound.
Don't loose hope yet, when it decides to grow it is a very nice variety!
Lisa
well, it's still hanging in there. If we said MF is a miniature heuch, then I would have to say mine is doing well in its new place.
We had gas co. come spray their yellow paint around so we wouldn't blow the place up when we put up the metal arch and they sprayed right over poor MF. When I moved it, I picked out the painted leaves and settled it in a shady spot behind my wooden arbor (which is covered with honeysuckle and trumpet vine and quite solid shade.)and it looks distinctly happier. As for the snow angels, I'd like to pour some weak rooting hormone on them to make sure they have a good root system when winter comes. Anybody think this is a stoopid idea?
I have never used rooting hormone for a plant in the the ground. I have used them successfully for divisions I have given off with our Humunguous Heuchera Hoedown. I don't think you can hurt anything.
well see, there's a weaker liquid kind you can pour on new plantings to help it grow new roots. I wasjust thinking how you don't want to cause a lot of soft newgrowth that won't have time to harden up for winter...but I guess root stim can't hurt...
Was thinking of this thread last night. I got out there for a bit to clean up leaves and check on the status of my heuchera. Everything weathered the winter pretty well in that area except Melting Fire. I have three and all of them are absent of leaves, just a few stems sticking out. The same has always happened with Peach Flambe too (planted in a different place) but they always have come back strong. My Georgia Peach that I just planted in late September near the Melting Fire weathered very well though.
I am having the same problem, my melting fire is not coming back like I had hoped. However it is still early for my area. I keep watching and hoping! Of the 10 plants that I have beside my house, one one is showing signs of regrowth. I will keep watching!
My Melting Fire came through the winter fine and it has quite a bit of new growth on it.
Some of the others I lost though - My Peach Flambe died - it was barely hanging on for a couple years, no matter what I did. I also lost my Dayglow Pink Heucherella :( The jury is still out on Citronella - it had heaved pretty badly during the winter - I shoved it back in, but I am not sure I got to it in time.
Back on the post about using some weak rooting hormone to make sure it has a strong root system, a better thing to use for that would be Superthrive. It's expensive (something like $12 or $15 for about a 6 oz bottle) but you only have to use a few drops per gallon and it has been known to save some plants in my yard that looked like they were on the way out. I always use it when I plant new plants. It's a good root stimulator.
My MF came back--three whole leaves HA! I no longer care, really, because I have a trio of the most spectacular Snow angels blooming right now, also the coral bells that look like the originals except the flowers are really RED instead of pink or coral. I haver a trio of them, too.
I have a question about this 'heaving' business though. What's the deal? I think something like that happened to one of my crystal palaces that line the walk up to the house and of course that's annoying because nothing looks worse than a row of something with a gap toothed hole in it. So what's with the heaving in the winter?--MH
Are you 100% sure it's heaving or does it need division? Mine behave like that when they want to be divided.
Well I don't really know. I know it looked kinda crappy all last winter, yet it's conditions weren't all that different to the other ones along the walk...it wasn't in the soil living here all that long, so could it really need dividing already? It isn't big, ...how do you divide a huchera anyway?--Melis
O and also, what IS heaving exactly, what does it look like? I mean I get it's something to do with freezing, but what does it look like? I can't be 100% sure of anything if I don't know what it looks like.--M
Heaving is when it's pushed upwards by the repeated freezing and thawing.
Since it never looked good why not lift it, examine it and then replant it? If you have to replant it exactly where it was I'd improve the soil first.
For any heuchera it seems heartless but you remove all the gnarly growth at the bottom by simply snapping off a good section of the top (branch, so to speak) and replanting the good part, discarding the old roots. They're so tough that they don't even compost well.
So I can shorten the bottom and poke it right back in the ground, and it'll make new roots? I don't have to put it into a greenhouse environment to get it to make new roots?
Nope. Just stick the cut off top back into good soil and discard the root.
wait. if I separate top from bottom and plant both, do I get two?
(yeah, yeah, greedy. I know.)
No. You discard the gnarly bottom but most likely you'll have more than one top so you'll end up with several little plants that quickly expand.
Wow. Seems to me like it'd take a special kinda something to do that the first time...whack a plant off its roots and throw the root away! Thnx for the info!--M