Update on my new raised beds 7th August 2011

garden looks great, and there was me so proud of my three Heucheras and you have 34, are you going to leave them out over the winter then, I am new to Heucheras the three I have are really big and what Cinderella sent me, was going to protect them through the winter.

Thank you Yorkshire. They will stay out all winter with no protection. They are really evergreens and very hardy. Scotkat has alerted me to the latest in Heucherellas - a trailing one. See it on the Plantagogo website. It is suitable for hanging baskets and grows to 90cm. Brilliant for easy gardening.
There are few problems with Heucheras. You might find them with vine weevil - the first signs are usually holes nibbled in the leaves and maybe some may look like they are dying off. Dig them up wash the roots of all soil attached to them and you may find the small white curled larvae eating their way through your plant roots. Squash them or drop them in to neat bleach. Get rid of the soil they were planted in and replant in fresh soil and they will come away again. If they were badly nibbled then use some rooting powder to give them a boost when replanting them. Dip the root in water and then in the powder and shake off the excess.

I really like Heucheras one of mine is bronze I have lost it's label though so I don't know which one it is. I like your raised bed as you say much easier to weed, and your plant's look good and settled :-)

thanks for all that information, I will keep an eye on them,

It does look smashing and I can see how much easier it must be with your raised beds. Like yorkshire I also only have three Heuchera`s but I do love them and am determined to get more, at the moment I`m seeing which parts of my garden they prefer. I also like your path but thats a nogo in my garden as my dogs spread it everywhere......

That does look good S.gran, so pretty and colourful, I should think that by the time your heucheras grow there will be no need to weed, happy days. I took seven cuttings of my plum pud. heuchera and they have all taken, they are so easy to do! Your garden is lovely.

Hello Scotsgran! That bed will be lovely to work on, now it's raised up! you have a beautiful selection of plants there, beautiful colours! Grand crop of rhubarb too! Yum!

Wow - 33 what a collection! Looking good:)

Thats great Lincslass, they look fantastic. Think I must have as many as you, but have never counted them.

Vine weevils killed one of mine- in a pot. :-(( It didn't get holes in its leaves, it just wilted. I had to get rid of the compost and the Heuchera top, and then plant up the pot with fresh compost and new plants. Wretched little critters! Grrr...

I like your raised beds to show the Heucheras off! I shall put you on the spot now - which Heuchera do you like best out of the 34?

That is an easy one Spritz. I keep coming back to Heuchera Sanguinea "Ruby Bells". It has green foliage, blood red flowers on strong stalks and they are fragrant. However Malachite is a srong contender too.It has very long cones of white flowers above very frilly green foliage. I love all of them. I don't offer rooted cuttings because many of these, especialy the newer ones, are protected by plant breeders rights. That is fair in my opinion given the trouble our suppliers go to to find them for us. I think they are good value for money at around £6.00 for a plant which lasts for years and can be propagated for your own use.
I am sorry to hear you lost a plant to the vine weevils. I dig mine up at the first sign of trouble even if they don't have holes in the leaves and check that there is nothing wrong with them as I find them very hardy and they don't seem to mind being lifted and washed before being placed in fresh soil. If you could have saved even a tiny living piece it would probably have rooted as they are very easy to grow from cuttings. As you say it is vital that the old compost/soil is gotten rid of from the garden in case any others are lurking there. Vine weevil seems to be so prevalent nowadays that it is almost impossible to say it is not in your garden. Once the beetles emerge it is easy for them to hop over a garden fence or two to get to anything they fancy. Provado will get rid of an infestation but it is more expensive than buying a new plant and the organic method of using a predator will only work in certain weather conditions.

Thanks everybody for your kind comments. If you lose a label try plantagogos website as your memory might be stimulated by the pictures on there.

They look fantastic flourishing wonderfully.

We had at least 2" of rain in the last 24 hours but we live at the top of a hill so no flooding for us thank goodness. I am surprised that these are growing so well given how much rain we have had this summer. I can only assume it is because it is raised it will be well draining. I am tempted to add more raised beds because they really do help when it comes to weeding and planting. To get the patio boards at the cheapest possible price i had to buy more thanwe needed for this project. I have used some of them to level off the border bed under the apple trees which gave me the depth needed to plant the rhubarb. It is "Champagne" and it is better than I have ever seen it. Big long stalks which are red right through. It needs less sugar when cooking as well. Rhubarb and apples are companion plants with benefits for both.

What a great sight, 33 H's! It will look so pretty with all those bulbs planted too!

What a fantastic display scotsgran, it is such a good idea - are you selling tickets yet?
How lovely to have such a wonderful collection and thank you for the recommendations!

Thanks everybody. I was worried that the beds were too high and would look ugly but I reckon they will be fine once plants start hanging over the edges to soften them. We did line the inside with fibreglass to try and keep the soil from rotting the wood which was pretreated. I intend to use the teak oil that we use on the garden furniture to give them a coating of oil when the plants are dormant. If anybody thinks or knows that that is not a good idea please warn me before I undo all our hard work. Sorry no tickets Sticki. I used to open my garden to the public. I stopped because our insurance did not cover us for that. Free entry but we sold plants in aid of the local school funds and the local pensioners group. Members of that group and people in the area supplied the plants and the chairman, a retired nursery man, and I potted them up for selling on. He is now in a home being assessed for moving in to a retirement home. Last time I saw him he was very happy to report that the staff were glad of his help in pricking out seedlings and potting on other plants and helping to plant up the planters in the grounds.
Libet the June drop for apples has just happened in the recent gales. I haven't picked up the windfalls yet but will do soon and make some rhubarb and ginger jam using the apple juice to set it.

how lovely to see a garden, and buy a few plants to help with a school or charity ~ what a shame that insurance and health and safety have stopped so many very nice things.

Thought I was Heuchera mad with 10 but your displays knocks mine collecton right off the radar, love the raised bed is sets them off so well:)

Thank you all for your kind comments

Wow, that is amazing Scotsgran . . . wish I'd read your lovely blog before putting in an order with Plantagogo - they are Very Busy, and no wonder, with all of us GoYers raving about Heucheras! I've ordered 4 varieties (3 of each) but now I want your favourite . . . Sanguina 'ruby bells' sounds wonderful! Thanks so much. :))

And Grandmage - how do you take your cuttings? (I knew they were easy to propagate by division, but have never tried cuttings).

Thank you Sheilabub.
Cuttings are easy but a word of caution. When ordering from Plantagogo if you see PBR behind a name of a variety that should alert you to the fact that it is covered by Plant Breeders Rights. It is given to plant breeders who pay to have their plants assessed usually over 2 seasons to ensure the plants are genetically different and a unique variety. They have to pay for that and then if awarded a PBR they pay an annual fee for the next 20 years or 25 in some cases to keep the right to breed or licence others to breed those plants. It is an offence to use cuttings taken from your plants except in your own garden. No giving them to friends or selling them anywhere. This is to encourage breeders to keep breeding new varieties and improving the plants we enjoy in our gardens. Without the income from those PBR rights the breeders would be hard pressed to fund their trials.It can take years to develop new plants.
Heucheras almost always get a bit leggy after a few seasons, if you dig them up and plant them deeper the leggy stems will develop roots and you can remove the rooted cuttings from the main plant but I usually just break off a stem, remove any flower on it , dip it in water and rooting powder and put up to 10 at a time round a 5" plant pot of compost. They will root in weeks. Do it at from June to September.

Thank you for all that info Scotsgran - great stuff - I'm adding it to my favourites. :))

Its good to share thank you Sheilabub.

What a very helpful blog this is - thank you scotsgran.