Scarlet coral bells
Heuchera sanguinea · Saxifragaceae
The original coral bells, grown for its flowers: airy sprays of small scarlet, pink or white bells on wiry stems for weeks in early summer, loved by hummingbirds.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around scarlet coral bells
The planner designed this bed around scarlet coral bells when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why scarlet coral bells stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Scarlet coral bells × 3, red
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 6, tan
- 3 Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet' × 15, lavender
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Blue wood aster × 5, lavender
- 6 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 7 Broad-leaved grape hyacinth × 5, blue
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are spires, daisies and dense clusters. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- At the back. At 18 in it stands behind the taller inkberry 'Gem Box' (2½ ft).
- A step in the back row. Next to garden phlox 'David' (3½ ft) and blue wood aster (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From late May to late July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With moor grass 'Greenlee' and Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet' in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 47% of the planted ground. It is planted in layers: about 8 in at the front, 16 in in the middle and 2½ ft at the back. Broad-leaved grape hyacinth is the first into flower, in mid April, and blue wood aster the last to finish, in mid October. Every line of the Design check comes out Good or better.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where scarlet coral bells goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Where the modern hybrids are foliage plants, this one earns its place in flower: a red haze at the front that you can see through. It wants sun in the north, part shade in the south, and good drainage.
- Edging with flowers for hummingbirds
- Rock gardens
- Cut flowers
What to plant with scarlet coral bells
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lady's mantle: red against green, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for six weeks.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for nine weeks, from late May; spires rising out of its mound.
- Carpathian bellflower: in flower together for six weeks, from late June; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about scarlet coral bells
Does scarlet coral bells need sun or shade?
Scarlet coral bells grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does scarlet coral bells grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does scarlet coral bells flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late July. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early June to early August |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late July |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late July |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should scarlet coral bells be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many scarlet coral bells plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is scarlet coral bells poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat scarlet coral bells?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after scarlet coral bells?
Scarlet coral bells is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
What does scarlet coral bells look like in winter?
Scarlet coral bells holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is scarlet coral bells good for bees and butterflies?
Scarlet coral bells is visited by pollinators, specialist bees and hummingbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Heuchera
- American alumroot Heuchera americana
- Coral bells Heuchera
- Coral bells 'Berry Smoothie' Heuchera 'Berry Smoothie'
- Coral bells 'Caramel' Heuchera 'Caramel'
- Coral bells 'Citronelle' Heuchera 'Citronelle'
- Coral bells 'Firefly' Heuchera sanguinea 'Leuchtkäfer'
- Coral bells 'Georgia Peach' Heuchera 'Georgia Peach'
- Coral bells 'Green Spice' Heuchera americana 'Green Spice'
- Coral bells 'Lime Rickey' Heuchera 'Lime Rickey'
- Coral bells 'Obsidian' Heuchera 'Obsidian'
- Coral bells 'Palace Purple' Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple'
- Coral bells 'Plum Pudding' Heuchera 'Plum Pudding'
- Hairy alumroot 'Autumn Bride' Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride'
- Prairie alumroot Heuchera richardsonii
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for bees
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to late July; airy sprays; red, pink, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
- Comes from
- Southwestern United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, heat
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.