<i>Heuchera </i>plant named ‘Smoke and Mirrors’

Abstract

The new and distinct hybrid of Heuchera plant named Smoke and Mirrors with rounded, slightly shiny, shallowly-dissected leaf blades having silvery coloration with strong purplish undertones in spring and becoming silver with deep green surrounding the veins. The new plant has deep reddish calyces on mostly-upright highly-branched panicles. The new plant is vigorous, resists melting out in high heat and humidity and produces medium clumps with many dense leaves and is useful in the landscape or in containers.

Claims

1. A new and distinct Heuchera plant named Smoke and Mirrors as herein described and illustrated.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the overall appearance of Heuchera Smoke and Mirrors including the unique traits. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with modern color reproductions. Some slight variation of color may occur as a result of lighting quality, intensity, wavelength, and direction or reflection.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a two-year-old plant just before flowering with intense silver.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flower scapes.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(4) The following description is based on a two-year-old plant growing in a lightly shaded greenhouse in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The new plant has not been grown under all possible environments and may phenotypically appear different under different conditions such as light, temperatures, fertilizer, and water, without any difference in genotype. The color descriptions used are from the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. Parentage: Female or seed parent was the proprietary plant 12-242-08 comprising Heuchera Mocha U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,386, PWHEU0109 U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,574 and Stainless Steel U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,349 and the male or pollen parent was K11-52-15 comprising Milan U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,682 and Mocha Mint (not patented); Plant habit: Hardy herbaceous perennial with basal rosette of foliage; mounded foliage about 22 cm tall and 48 cm in diameter with scapes to about 78 cm tall; stems to about 6.5 cm long and 10.0 mm diameter at base completely covered with petiole stipules, with about 30 leaves per stem and 3 main stems per plant; Roots: Fibrous, finely branched; nearest RHS NN155B depending on soil type; Growth rate: Vigorous, rapid; rooting from cutting in two weeks and finishing in three-liter container in about 3 months; Foliage: Rounded; shallowly penta-lobed (dissected about 5 mm); mostly flat; apex and lobe apices micro-apiculate; base cordate, margin crenate and ciliolate; adaxial surface micro-puberulent, abaxial micro-puberulent; glossiness moderate adaxial and strong abaxial; Leaf blade size: To about 13.0 cm wide and 13.5 cm long, average about 11.0 cm wide and 11.5 cm long; Leaf color: Spring and young emerging leaves adaxial nearest RHS N186D near petiole and transitioning to a blend of RHS N187B and RHS N186D narrow area surrounding veins RHS 187A, spring young emerging leaves abaxial blend of nearest RHS 187B and RHS N186D; mature mid-season leaves adaxial blend nearest RHS 189D and RHS 198B with area surrounding veins nearest RHS N189A; midseason abaxial nearest RHS N186D; overwintered adaxial blend between RHS 191C and RHS 198C with thin area surrounding veins nearest blend between RHS NN137A and RHS 139A, abaxial overwintered nearest N186C; Leaf quantity: Dense, about 30 per division and 90 per plant; Veins: Palmate, hirsutulous abaxial and puberulent adaxial; costate abaxial and nearly flat adaxial; Vein color: On emerging or early spring foliage adaxial blend nearest RHS 182B and RHS N187B, emerging or early spring abaxial nearest RHS 182B; mid-season flowering time adaxial nearest blend of RHS 176B and RHS 182B; mid-season and flowering time abaxial main veins nearest RHS 1482B and secondary veins nearest RHS N186C; overwintered veins adaxial nearest RHS 146C near petiole and distally RHS 147B, abaxial overwintered veins nearest RHS 182B and secondary veins nearest RHS N186C; Petiole: Terete, base amplexicaul; straight, stiff; outwardly to drooping with outer leaves and slightly upright with inner leaves; with pubescent hairs to about 3.0 mm long; to about 14.0 cm long and 3.5 mm across at base above stipule, average about 12.0 cm long and about 3.0 mm across above stipule; Petiole color: Emerging leaf nearest blend between RHS 182B and RHS 183B; mature leaf nearest blend between RHS 183B and RHS 147B; overwintered leaves variable with some regions nearest RHS 146B and others blushed heavily to lightly with RHS N186C; Stipule: At base of petiole; puberulent abaxial and glabrous adaxial; about 12.0 mm long and about 8.0 cm wide at base with two distally-flared acute appendages about 2.0 mm long; Stipule color: Adaxial between RHS 64B and RHS 64A with two longitudinal stripes about 1.0 mm wide running along margins of nearest RHS 195B; abaxial nearest RHS N148B with moderate blush of RHS 187B and two longitudinal margin stripes nearest RHS 195B; Peduncle: Panicle; terete; stiff; pubescent; mostly upright; to about 78.0 cm long and 4.0 mm diameter at base, average about 67.0 cm tall and about 3.5 mm diameter; about five per plant with up to 400 flowers per panicle, average about 300; heavily compound-branched panicle with up to 20 branches per peduncle up to about 8.0 cm long and about 1.0 mm diameter at base, decreasing in size distally, average 20 branches per panicle; branches outwardly at about 45 degree angle to main peduncle; flower density moderate; Flowering longevity: Panicle effective for about five weeks; Flower density: Moderately dense; Peduncle color: Lighter than RHS 146D, blushed with nearest RHS 183B; Pedicel: Terete, finely puberulent, average about 2.5 mm long and 0.5 mm diameter; Pedicel color: nearest RHS 178B; Buds one day prior to opening: Oblong ellipsoidal; rounded apex and attenuate base; puberulent; about 5.0 mm long and 2.0 mm diameter; Bud color one day prior to opening: Proximal portion nearest blend of RHS 176D and RHS 180D, becoming nearest RHS 176C toward center and nearest RHS 60C toward apex; Flower: Perfect, campanulate, actinomorphic, about 9.0 mm long to exserted style and 5.0 mm in diameter at face; corolla to 8.0 mm long and 5.0 mm diameter; individual flowers lasting about 4 days on plant or as cut flower; rarely persistent; Flower attitude: Upwardly to outwardly; Calyx: Five sepals; apex acute; about 8.0 mm long and 5.0 mm wide, base fused in proximal 4.5 mm to form hypanthium; puberulent abaxial, glabrous adaxial; rarely persistent; Calyx color: Abaxial base nearest blend of RHS 176D, RHS 195A and RHS 180D and distally nearest RHS 59B at apex; adaxial apex nearest RHS 59B, center nearest N155C; proximally nearest RHS 167D at base; Petals: Five, oblanceolate to spatulate, acute apex and attenuate base; margin entire, glabrous abaxial and adaxial; adnate to inner sepals in proximal 0.5 mm; about 3.0 mm long and 1.2 mm wide at middle; Petal color: Abaxial and adaxial nearest RHS 70A; Androecium: Five adnate to adaxial calyx about 1.0 mm above base; Filaments.Five, thin, glabrous; about 2.0 mm long and less than 0.3 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 59C. Anthers.Ellipsoidal, distinct, basifixed, longitudinal; color nearest RHS N187A. Pollen.Abundant; color nearest RHS 8D. Gynoecium: One, two-beaked; half-inferior; bifid style with pistil split at ovary; 9.0 mm long; Style.Bifid; exserted; split apart at apex of ovary; about 4.5 mm long and about 0.5 mm diameter; color between RHS 59C and RHS 59D. Stigma.Acute apex, about 0.1 mm diameter; color darker than RHS 59A. Ovary.Half-inferior, about 4.5 mm long and 3.0 mm diameter; ellipsoidal to globose; apex acute, base rounded; color nearest RHS 145C. Fruit: Two-beaked ellipsoidal capsule; about 4.5 mm long and 3.0 mm across; color nearest RHS 200B; Seed: Thin ellipsoidal; less than 1.0 mm long and less than 0.5 mm wide; color between RHS 202A and RHS 200A; Disease and pest tolerance: The new plant grows best with ample moisture and drainage in either sun or shade. Cold hardy from USDA zones 4 to 9. Other resistance and tolerance outside of that normal for Heuchera is not known.