Tiarella cordifolia Brandywine

Tiarella cordifolia 'Brandywine' is an excellent cultivar of heart-leaved foam flower that is particularly vigorous and remarkably floriferous. Its airy spikes of white flowers appear profusely for at least 6 weeks in spring. This foamflower is also distinguished by its superb glossy foliage, which is light green and maculated with brown-purple along the veins. In autumn and winter, its large leaves take on a beautiful bronze hue. Often evergreen in winter, very hardy, this perennial makes a superb groundcover for damp shade, and it can be grown either in the ground or in pots.

Tiarella cordifolia 'Brandywine' belongs to the Saxifragaceae family. It is a cousin of Heucheras with which it easily hybridises. Its ancestor, the heart-leaved foamflower, is native to North American woodlands. This variety of 'Brandywine' will reach a mature size of 38 cm (15in) in flower, 25 cm (10in) for the foliage, with a width of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16in). The plant, which spreads through stolons, can quickly cover a significant area. The rhizomes of this superb heart-leaved foam flower produce glossy leaves in spring, which unfold to form a spreading clump. Its foliage is mostly evergreen in winter. Its palmate and deeply lobed leaves measure about 8 cm (3in) in all directions and are nicely crinkled. The centre of the lamina and the veins are strongly coloured with purple, and the foliage darkens in autumn and winter due to the cold. In April, white flowers densely cover the floral stems, about 38-40 cm (15-16in) tall, dominating the foliage. When the plant is pruned in July, it sometimes produces a second, more subtle, flowering in September.

In the wild, Tiarella cordifolia is generally found in wooded or mountainous environments, always in damp to moist soil. Tiarella cordifolia 'Brandywine' will naturally find its place in the understory or in a shady and moist rock garden, alongside ferns, Carex, Heuchera 'Chantilly', Solomon's seals, or astilbes. It can also be used as a waterside plant. It will also thrive in containers or shady planters. In this case, it should be planted in a well-drained potting mix and watering should be monitored in summer and reduced in winter. Potted plants will need protection from cold winter winds.

Flower buds are formed during the summer, but they will only develop and bloom after being exposed to cold temperatures for at least 10 weeks in the following year. Cold is therefore necessary for this perennia l to flower.

Tips: Remove faded flowers and limit the growth of rhizomes, which can be invasive.