Black Pearl Coral Bells - 20-Cell Plug Tray

Black Pearl brings true dark color to the garden, with glossy leaves so deep they read as black from a few steps away. The edges are tightly scalloped and ruffled, which flips up flashes of rosy purple from the leaf backs and gives the mound a rich, layered texture.

It stays low, about 8 to 10 inches tall and up to 20 inches across, and holds its dark tone even in sun. Its villosa heritage helps it handle summer heat and humidity. In midsummer, slender stems carry small white flowers in pink cups. Use it for edging, containers, massed plantings or as a dark accent beside bright foliage.

What it looks like

A dense, low mound about 8 to 10 inches tall and 18 to 20 inches wide made of glossy, near-black rounded leaves roughly 4 inches across. Each leaf has heavily ruffled, scalloped margins that curl upward to show rosy purple undersides. The oldest leaves carry a faint silvery sheen over the black. In midsummer, thin dark stems rise to about 18 to 20 inches, holding airy sprays of tiny white bell-shaped flowers set in pink calyces. At peak the planting looks like a tight black cushion topped with a light pink-and-white haze.

Growing it with lavender

Its near-black ruffled leaves make a strong low edging in front of lavender in a bed with some afternoon shade, though it wants a little more summer water than lavender does.

Care

Grows in full sun to full shade; afternoon shade helps in hot spots. Plant in average to fertile, well-drained soil with regular water, and avoid soggy winter sites to prevent crown rot; hardy in zones 4-9. Trim spent flower stems and any winter-worn leaves in early spring, and reset crowns that heave above the soil line.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Heuchera
• Flower color: White with pink calyces
• Foliage: Glossy near-black with rosy purple undersides
• Growth habit: Dense, low mound
• Mature size: 8–10 in tall × 18–20 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
• Light: full sun, part sun to part shade, full shade
• Bloom start: Late-June
• Peak bloom: Mid-July
• Bloom pattern: Single Flush
• Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
• Pollinator value: Good

Sizes and shipping

One full 20-cell plug tray: 20 large, field-ready plugs of this variety (cells about 2¾ in. wide × 3¼ in. deep or deeper), ready to plant out or pot up. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.