odSteve
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Posts: 68
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 12:35 am

Most Colorful Perennial ?

Hi,
What do you recommend as the most colorful perennial I can put next to my front door, in zone 5? Ideally I want something that gets about 3 ft high and is very colorful, like Coleus, but I want a perennial that I don't have to replace every year. Next to my front door I sunk a 20 gallon pot filled with the best store-bought potting soil and compost for this plant. The spot is very shady. Next to this I have a pot with some Ostrich Ferns that are doing well. What colorful perennial can you recommend?
Thank you.

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applestar
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Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

if you want “colorful” foliage, two plants you might want to consider are hosta and heuchera. Both do bloom on long flower stalks, and while in bloom, they can reach 2 feet for heuchera and as tall as 4~5 feet for hosta, but once flowers are done, heuchera is low-growing mound about 1 ft while hosta is available in wide range of sizes. Heuchera come in amazing color patterns some of which resemble coleus color scheme. Hosta are available in wide range of green shades — chartreuse to blue-green — with and without variegation (cream accents)

odSteve
Cool Member
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 12:35 am

Hi,
Thank you for the recommendations. In the end I chose a Heuchera. It's supposed to get 18 to 20 in high (although I know the internet tends to exaggerate a lot) with leaves that start out pink and turn to red. I hope it looks good with a white house behind it. The purples and blacks just looked too dark and the orange colored ones, which I really wanted, were all just too short at only 8 or so inches tall. The web sites said the Heuchera's were evergreen but I can't help but wonder why our only local nursery doesn't carry any Heuchera's. Shipped in a 3 in pot I'm sure it will be tiny. I just hope it grows fast and can take our hot summers and zone 5 winters.
Thanks again.
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