Heuchera help

steven.g.garner · June 2021

I planted 3 tiny heucheras last year, this year they are massive and amazing! However. I’ve notice the taller the flower stems get, the increasingly unstable they are. The actual plants are almost being uprooted by the weight of their own lower foliage also. What to do? Some pics below. Should I have ‘pruned’ them? I’m not a very experienced gardener but I’m having some success with planting and what to make sure stuff is happy!

Lena_vs_Deer · June 2021

I had similar trouble at some point with other shallow rooted plants when soil got a bit too thin and too light around . My solution was to cover roots back with soil and put some river rocks to ground them. At this point you may indeed need to trim them shorter (just the flower stems) so it doesn't wobble much till they re-establish.

Maybe there's a better solution, I just had some river rocks to spare XD
I had this with irises, flowers grew too big and heavy, they liked new soil too much I suppose )) and stems just were pulling the whole division out

Also can't tell on photo if roots are completely pulled out or rather were planted a bit too high above the ground initially. May be that they just need to be deeper.

amancalledgeorge · June 2021

Heucheras do make a stalk of sorts as they keep growing and eventually they can pull themselves out the ground like that. It usually takes 3-4 years. You can dig them up and plant them deeper, you can otherwise try to trim them down but there's a possibility they won't regenerate if trimmed too severely.

The trimmings can be used to make new plants which is a nice extra.
Some images and further explanation on this blog post (no connection to me, just seemed a clear explanation of the process):
https://bloominglucky.com/leggy-heucheras-how-to-sort-them-get-more-plants/

Elfer · June 2021

Planting location doesn't look ideal as it's too close to the edge and possibly planted too shallow. I would dig it up and change location with great care as it's not the ideal season for moving.

Wilderbeast · June 2021

Heucheras grow a central stem that lifts the plant up off the ground. They need digging up and replanting with the stem much lower in the soil. This is a common problem with them and is part of the regular maintenance that they need. Don't do it now as it's summer late autumn or early spring is best.

steven.g.garner · June 2021

Wonderful - thanks for the help everyone. The border took off so well I was pretty surprised how full it is, so a bit of a move is inevitable - will wait until late sept / oct (of that’s right???)