The Fast-Growing Perennial With Stunning Fall Color That Pollinators Love

In addition to the trees and shrubs you grow to capture the fall colors in your yard, perennials can be used to capitalize on another layer of fall color, this one closer to the ground. Plants like Heucherella 'Buttered Rum' bring color and texture to your flower beds throughout the year. Also known as foamy bells, heucherellas are a hybrid cross between foam flowers (Tiarella) and coral bells (Heuchera). They bring positive traits from both plants together to create a fast-growing perennial that adds color to your landscape.

While heucherellas can sometimes die back in colder climates during severe winters, they are hardy in Zones 4 to 9, and considered an evergreen perennial in most areas. In colder regions, they may be semi-evergreen, depending on the severity of the winter. They are best planted in shade gardens; even though some varieties tolerate full sun, heucherellas generally prefer partial to full shade. This plant also likes humus-rich, moist soil that drains well, which is why it pairs well with plants like hosta in the shade garden.

One of the positive traits that tiarellas passed on to heucherellas is the capacity to produce an abundance of blooms from late spring to early summer. Buttered Rum produces long-lasting foamy flowers on compact clumps approximately eight inches tall. This makes it a good plant to choose when you want to encourage pollinators like butterflies and bees in shady areas.

The most important needs of Heucherella 'Buttered Rum' are its shade and soil requirements. To enjoy an abundance of stunning leaves in fall, these tips will help you provide the best care for heucherellas. Like tiarellas and heucheras, heucherellas need dappled sunlight for lush growth, but as long as they have the right amount of shade, they can be useful in many parts of the garden. Heucherellas with darker leaves are tolerant of more sunlight, but 'Buttered Rum' is one of the lighter shades of heucherellas, so it's best planted in a shady area.

Heucherellas require slightly acidic, humus-rich soil with regular watering to keep their roots moist but not too wet. One of the reasons they like to grow in the shade is that the soil stays damp for longer without making roots too soggy. Although they aren't heavy feeders, heucherellas can be given a dose of balanced fertilizer monthly throughout the growing season. Just make sure to avoid using too much nitrogen, which can be the reason your plants are covered in aphids.

Although deadheading is often recommended for more blooms and a tidy garden, it's not absolutely necessary when it comes to pruning heucherella. It's more important to focus on dividing the plants every few years. This is a common technique used to rejuvenate plants and spread them around.

Heucherella 'Buttered Rum' adds color and the texture of maple-shaped leaves to your landscape throughout the growing season and beyond. The caramel colored leaves that first appear are burnished by the sun to a rose-colored red in the fall, making them just as impactful in your stone landscaping as they are as a groundcover in a shaded woodland area. 

Growing best in areas sheltered from the wind, heucherellas are a fantastic choice for perennial container gardens. Used for their vibrant foliage and interesting textures, hybrids like 'Buttered Rum' can be paired with any of the rainbow of colors of heucheras, tiarellas, and heucherellas available. Plant one of the trailing varieties used for its spilling effect, such as 'Redstone Falls,' which can spread up to three feet wide.

Another place to capitalize on the burst of color that heucherellas provide is in mixed flower beds combined with other plants and shrubs. Shrubs like hydrangea and dogwood have similar growing requirements, and the color, shape, and texture of heucherella species highlight these plants throughout the year. In woodland gardens, heucherellas pair well with daylilies, hostas, and ferns, while in your container gardens, you can create a dramatic effect by choosing colorful annuals like coleus and zinnias. 'Buttered Rum' is also a great choice as a fall container to decorate your Halloween porch.