Click on the image thumbnail to the right to enlarge -›››

Heuchera micrantha - Saxifragaceae -'Mountain Saxifrage,' 'Coral Bells,' 'Crevice Alumroot.' - Native to rock faces in the Coast Ranges of California, many varieties and crosses of this have found their way into horticulture. The wild version is also a very fine garden subject, making a superb show with its airy clouds of creamy-pink flowers dwarfing the compact clumps. The parents of these seedlings have a lot of variation in their leaf color, with bright green leaves zoned with varying degrees of reddish purple. This strain comes from the wild Trinity River canyon in northern California.

It is a well-known medicinal herb, long used for it's strong astringent properties in various preparations.

Mountain Saxifrage looks great planted in a grouping which will accentuate the effect very nicely. The airy flower stems rise to about 3' above a tidy compact foliage clump. Heuchera micrantha does well under high shade and in the leaf-fall and root zone of deciduous trees, as well as many conifers. It is an excellent subject for the rock garden too. It thrives in full sun on the coast, but plants in the interior need some shade. Infrequent summer watering suits this best, and in the winter it can tolerate (but doesn't require) tons of rain. It can take extreme lows of -10 °F, but is better kept above 0°F.