The Right Plant in the Right Place at the Right Time

Heucherellas

The right plant in the right place at the right time

I’ve always been intrigued by the “what if” question. What if we crossed this with that? What if we did the reverse cross? What if we….. it goes on from there.

That’s the way it is with this bi-generic hybrid. One parent is a Heuchera and one parent is a Tiarella. Switch ‘em around if you like.

Terra Nova wasn’t the first to breed Heucherellas, but we are the world’s leading breeder of this genus. Terra is the first breeder of trailing Heucherellas, though! Heucherellas aren’t some hocus-pocus, GMO thingy. They’re genuine, hand pollinated crosses from selected parents. Heucherellas aren’t hard to make, but good or great Heucherellas take many hundreds of crosses, thousands of seedlings and a critical eye. Recent copy cats from ‘’me too ‘’ breeders have yielded a few look-a-likes, but with so many generations of breeding from selected parents that were scrutinized for impeccable habits and viability, why chance the knock off?

Has every Terra Nova Heucherella been a home run? Nope. Has every Terra Nova been evaluated through our multiple year trial and many step processes for vetting the best of the best? Yes.

Because Heucherellas are sterile, (kind of like a mule) the flower spikes remain for a long time and sometimes, they stay ugly longer than they were pretty – not a good trait. We had to find parent on both sides to fix this feature. What we found very interesting is discovering which parent controlled what characteristic; a secret to most other breeders.

One feature, not obvious to the casual observer is that Terra Nova Heucherellas are Rust free! Puccinia heucherae (Heuchera rust) is endemic around the world, easily spread by rain and wind. It’s fairly easy to control and prevent but if you can avoid it all the way, why not? We feel that our selected Tiarella heritage passed on a natural resistance to this disfiguring disease; very good trait indeed.

 A well-known Southern nursery gentleman from the great state of Georgia told me recently that he feels “Heucherellas are the future of Heuchera”. I tend to agree, as Terra Nova expands the color range of Heucherellas, their uses and general features, Heucheras and Tiarellas will have a tougher row to hoe, as they say, in the future.

Our Heucherellas do well in all 50 states – if they’re allowed. I think they’re off limits in Hawaii. Because of their much blended heritage, they thrive in heat and humidity of the South and thrive in the in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Heuchera are native only to North America, from Alaska down to the northern mountains of Mexico. Tiarellas got around only a little bit more. There’s only one species that is not native to North America; Tiarella polyphylla hails from eastern Asia. It’s a little finicky and we’ve shied away from it for that reason. In a very real way, our Heucherellas are native plants, that don’t become weedy and invasive.

Try some of the worlds easiest to grow, most rewarding garden plants from Terra Nova, soon!

Above, are just a few samples of what we have to offer!

If you plan on attending CA.S.T., you'll see our latest additions to the line-up, including New Bantam class coleus, new Begonias and of course, the world's best Heuchera, Heucherella andEchinacea. Dates for CA.S.T. are Saturday, April 1st, 2017 through Thursday, April 6th, 2017 Terra Nova will be at:

Windmill Nursery 925 W Hwy 246, Buellton, CA 93427