Heuchera richardsonii, Prairie Alumroot


Prairie Alumroot in bloom.

Our native Prairie Alumroot is the parent of all those crazy-colored-leaf Heuchera species found at garden centers. Yet it is the parent plant that is tough, versatile, and beneficial to your native landscape. Although we avoid strictly aesthetic characterizations of native species, Prairie Alumroot does have attractive mounding foliage that is an excellent replacement for Alchemilla mollis, Lady's Mantle, so common to gardens around the world (and an invasive species in some regions). 

The native Heuchera sends up spires of pale yellow-green flowers with orange stamens that birds like to perch on while grabbing seeds and insects for dinner. This is one of several native plant species that crosses over between prairie, woodland edge, and savanna landscapes and right into the conventional home garden. It's also a perfect plant to complement the matrix species grasses and sedges.

Blooms: greenish-yellow with orange stamens, late May into July

Height: 1 to 2+ feet when in flower

Conditions: sun to pt sun, moist-medium to medium-dry soils

Prairie Alumroot leaves with flowering stems rising above.