Heucherella Kimono

Heucherella 'Kimono' is a hybrid between Heuchera and Tiarella, combining the best of both parents in a highly successful variety. This recent selection resembles more a Tiarella than a Heuchera. It forms a low, evergreen cushion of deeply lobed leaves, variegated with matte green, pale green, and silver, heavily coloured with purple-brown along the veins. Its flowering is remarkable: paniculate pale pink flowers appear in spring, carried by slender stems. It is an excellent perennial for shaded and cool areas of the garden, in the understory.

Heucherella 'Kimono' belongs, like its parents Heuchera and Tiarella, to the Saxifragaceae family. It has inherited the qualities of these two plants: the spectacular foliage of the heuchera and the abundant flowering as well as the superior robustness of the tiarella. It is a persistent perennial growing in a low and compact clump. At maturity, it reaches 40 cm (16in) in all directions. The leaves measure 4 to 10 cm (2 to 4in) in diameter. The first leaves, those that emerge in spring, are narrower. They give way to large, rather round and deeply palmate leaves that resemble those of the maple, with strongly marked veins and colored in purple-brown. With the arrival of cold weather, 'Kimono' takes on a soft and luminous silver-pink attire. The very durable flowers appear in April-May and until early summer, grouped in condensed spikes carried by thin and hairy stems 50 cm (20in) tall. This metallic pink flowering gives an impression of foam.

Heucherella 'Kimono' appreciates wooded environments with a humid atmosphere. It will naturally find its place in a moist understory alongside ferns, Impatiens balfouri, Solomon's seals, and astilbes. It is also a good plant for perennial borders or in a rock garden, always in shade. It can also be used as a waterside plant. It will also thrive in pots or containers sheltered from direct sunlight. It should be planted in a well-drained potting mix without excessive fertiliser, with watering carefully monitored in summer and reduced in winter. Potted plants will need protection against cold winter winds.