‘Donegal’

Large magenta (H14) flowers, VI–IX; mid-green foliage; spreading habit; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm.

Wild-collected; collected at Lough Nacung, County Donegal, Ireland, by David McClintock (Platt, Kent, England) in 1969; introduced by B. & V. Proudley (St Briavels, Gloucestershire).

Named after the county in north-western Ireland, where the clone was collected.

‘Errigal Dusk’

Amethyst (H1) flowers, barrel-shaped, VIII–IX; dark green foliage; strong, upright habit; height 31–45cm; spread 46–60cm.

Wild-collected; found at Lough Nacung, County Donegal, Ireland, by Dr E. C. Nelson (National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland) in 1978.

Named from Errigal, the mountain at the foot of which Lough Nacung is situated; dusk was chosen because of the dusky purple colour of the corolla.

‘Galicia’

Deep magenta flowers, VII–X, free-flowering; dark green foliage; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. Collected in Galicia, Spain, by David McClintock, Dr Charles Nelson and David Small in 1982.

‘Lawsoniana’

Pale pink (H8) flowers, VII–IX, corolla often with more than 4 lobes, and style short and malformed; green foliage, paler than other cultivars; height 10–15cm; spread 21–25cm.

Wild-collected; found in Ireland, probably in Connemara, County Galway, but its history is not known in detail; introduced by Lawson & Sons (Edinburgh, Scotland) about 1875.

Of obscure origins and certainly not the plant which was originally given the name Erica tetralix subsp. lawsoniana (see Yearbook of The Heather Society 2000: 77–80).

Named after the nurserymen (see also Erica mackaiana ‘Lawsoniana’); at the time Charles Lawson was the owner (he is also commemorated in the Lawson cypress).

‘Susie’s Blush’

Buds relatively long and narrow, slightly curved; corolla white at base flushed pale pink towards tip (deeper pink in bud); style tip dark red; anthers brown (darker than ‘Shining Light’). Flowers: (June) July–September in cultivation. Bushy heather which responds well to pruning, with vigorous upright shoots to 0.35m tall, to 0.5m across (after 8 years in cultivation; pruned); leaves densely and evenly arranged on shoots, bright green, paler than ‘Shining Light’; marginal cilia may be gland-tipped.

A selection from wild plants growing near Cabo de Peñas, Asturias, northern Spain, noticed by members of The Heather Society during a field trip in 2007.

Named as a compliment to Susie Kay, Conference Manager of The Heather Society, in whose Connemara garden it has been grown, and who has propagated it.

® E.2016:02 registered by The Heather Society.