Heather of the Month

Pink flowers, XII– ? III; dark green foliage; upright and compact; after 3 years, height about 30cm; spread 15cm but likely to get taller. An early blooming clone, as yet not named, which starts to show colour in November and…

A hybrid between the bell heather (Erica cinerea) and the Corsican heath (Erica terminalis) which was first reported to have been created by Georg Arends. Kurt Kramer also succeeded in producing the same cross and extant clones represent Blooms throughout…

Seedling; raised by C. J. Marchant (Stapehill, Wimborne, Dorset, England); introduced by C. J. Marchant by 1954. Named after the place where it was raised.

St Dabeoc's heath, Daboecia cantabrica, is native in Ireland. Sprawling or compact shrub, to 40cm (16in) tall, spreading to 70cm (28in); leaves glossy, dark green 1.5cm (2/3in) long, 6mm (¼in) wide; flowers about 1cm (3/8in) long, usually lavender, summer to…

Cerise (H6) flowers, the buds are salmon-coloured; grey-green foliage. Collected at West End, Woking, Surrey. Named after George Underwood's brother, Leslie. Image courtesy of David Brown.

Flowers single, in groups of four at tips of shoots, flowering shoots very densely crowded towards ends of branches; corolla c. 9mm long, white, slightly curved, widening towards mouth; calyx segments unequal, with broad translucent margins and pale green mid-rib,…

Large magenta (H14) flowers with dark bronze-green foliage; Sport from Erica x darleyensis 'Kramer's Rote', so it was re-named 'Lena' whilst on test; granted 17 May 2000. Image taken on a snowy day in my garden, Early March, this year.…

White flowers, sparse, slightly scented; yellow foliage all year being brightest in winter and spring. A sport from Erica arborea 'Alpina' propagated by Albert Turner (Birmingham, UK); introduced by Denbeigh Heather Nurseries (Creeting St Mary, Ipswich, Suffolk) by 1975. Named…

White flowers, buts sometimes tinged pink; mid-green foliage; open erect habit; height to 1-4.5m; spread 61–75cm; leaves in whorls of 4 (sometimes in 3s), to 7mm long; flowers numerous and crowded appearing to form elongated spikes: 1–4 flowers in each…

 Flowers white; XII-II; calyx white with greenish tips; style slightly emergent, tinged pink or green at apex; anthers with vestigial spurs reduced to a tuft of minute hairs. Foliage bright green, with pale salmon-pink new growth. Artificial hybrid between E.…

♤ Bud-flowering; calyx red; VIII-XII; foliage dark green; habit upright. Late blooming with long durability. Deliberately bred seedling from 'Amethyst' and "97-18-15"; raised and selected by Kurt Kramer. ® C.2006:08  registered 25 December 2006 by Kurt Kramer, Edewecht, Germany Image…

One of the purest white-flowered cultivars of the Cornish heath; the anthers emerge as pale cream and darken to tan after the pollen has been shed. A compact heather, with bright yellow shoots in springtime. One of The Heather Society's…

Introduced by Maxwell & Beale (Corfe Mullen, Dorset, England) in 1951, as E. verticillata; originally sent to the nursery from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, on 16 March 1949. Identified subsequently as a hybrid, after it was given the cultivar…

Erica cinerea often refered to as Bell Heather, ranges from western Norway and the Faeroe Islands through Ireland, Britain, north-western Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, north-western Italy, Spain and Portugal, and with an isolated colony in Algeria. Bell heather requires an…

As a wild, naturally occurring hybrid between cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) and Cornish heath (Erica vagans), this is apparently endemic to the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall (see Heathers 4: 45–56. 2007). However, Erica × williamsii could also exist in France and…

St Dabeoc's heath, Daboecia cantabrica, is native in Ireland. Sprawling or compact shrub, to 40cm (16in) tall, spreading to 70cm (28in); leaves glossy, dark green 1.5cm (2/3in) long, 6mm (¼in) wide; flowers about 1cm (3/8in) long, usually lavender, summer to…

Erica x veitchii is a hybrid between tree heath (Erica arborea) and Portuguese heath (Erica lusitanica), represented in cultivation by at least five cultivars which vary in hardiness from zone 7 to zone 8. Veitch's heath can be grown in…

White flowers, corolla 5–6mm long, to 2mm across, ovoid; calyx 3–4mm; XII-IV; foliage “Golden”; Selected seedling from ‘Golden Lady’, propagated from an individual plant growing in the garden of Susie and Alan Kay, Letterfrack, County Galway, Ireland. Another plant in…

Distinctive flower colour rose-pink (H7); December - April; urn-shaped corolla to 5.5mm long, 2.5mm across towards base; calyx lobes rose-pink, darker towards base, 4mm long; foliage darkening in winter, with bronze tinge; mid-green in summer, 7 x 1 mm, habit…

Abundant white flowers; Feb - May; bright green foliage; height 10–15cm; spread 31–45cm A selected seedling from the deliberate cross between 'Springwood White' and 'Snow Queen' made by Kurt Kramer (Edewecht, Germany), but named and introduced by the British Heather…

Happy Christmas and New Year to all who love heathers. One to look out for in the new year, a very distinctive heather for spring. Soft pink flowers on axillary shoots in terminal whorls of 3–5; calyx with 4 unequal…

Erica x darleyensis is a hybrid between winter heath (Erica carnea) and Irish heath (Erica erigena); the original was found in a nursery in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, in the late nineteenth century. Numerous seedlings have been raised in recent years…

One of the many bud-flowering Calluna vulgaris found in garden centres at this time of the year. Since they never actually flower, the buds stay on the plant for several months. Bud-flowering Calluna make a welcome colourful addition to the…

Double shell-pink (H16) flowers in long tapering spikes; Aug-Nov; dark green foliage turning a drab green- brown in winter; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. Very free flowering and can be often found in garden centres at this time of the year.…

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…

Deep lilac-pink (H11) flowers, VII–X; dark green foliage; height 61–75cm; spread 46–60cm. Less reliable than the "type". Collected in Sardinia and named by the finder after his wife. Native in south-eastern Spain, Corsica, Italy including Sardinia and Morocco, and long-naturalized…

Large mauve (H1/H2) flowers, V–IX; green foliage with brilliant lemon-yellow new growth in spring which persists until after flowering starts; neat rounded habit; height 21–25cm; spread 46–60cm. Collected by David McClintock on the shores of Lough Nacung, County Donegal, Ireland.…

Bi-coloured flowers purple bases and white mouths; deep green foliage; semi-erect; height 40cm. The reverse of the "normal" bi-colours in bell heathers. Collected in at Lettergesh, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland, and named after Dr E. G. H. Oliver. An unusual…

Lilac-pink (H11) flowers, IV–VI; dark green foliage; height at least 1m; spread 75–100cm. Outstanding, but requires to be well pruned to avoid it becoming straggly. One of a group of larger taller heathers which are spectacular in spring as a…

Selected seedling resulting from the breeding programme of Kurt Kramer in Edewecht-Siiddorf, Germany 1992, and introduced by Kingfisher Nursery, Gedney Hill, Lincolnshire, England, in 1994. Plant Breeders' Rights granted in Germany on 31 March 1995. This is a tetraploid and…

Flowers: small, to 4mm long, white at the base shading to pale pink at the lobes, with green-tipped sepals. End of style tinged red; II–III;  foliage dark green; habit broad compact; height 50cm; spread 50cm. This compact shrub with densely…

A recommended cultivar with unusual foliage. Bred by Kurt Kramer (Edewecht, Germany) using 'Myretoun Ruby' as one of the parents. Named after the famous blended whisky, and marketed in Europe under the trade designation Whisky. Image courtesy of Sten-Börje Sörensson.

A very popular plant to be found in many garden centres. Will brighten a dull winter flower bed. Magenta (H14) flowers, I–IV; dark bronze-green foliage; height 31–45cm; spread 46–60cm. A selected seedling from the deliberate cross by Kurt Kramer between…

A lovely silver grey foliage plant to enhance your heather bed at any time of the year. Lavender flowers in August to October; vigorous, upright habit; height 31–45cm; spread 46–60cm. Named after Yvette Knutson, a one-time employee of David Wilson…

Flowers pale pink “with a hint of coral”; corolla translucent; sepals pearly white; anthers dark maroon; style strongly exserted; pedicels dusky red; VII/VIII-XI; Chance seedling before 2005, most probably from ‘Toothill Mustard’; found by R. Canovan in his garden. Registered…

Deep rose-pink (H7) flowers, VIII–X; dark green foliage. Deliberately bred seedling raised by Kurt Kramer (Edewecht, Germany). Selected and introduced by Forest Edge Nurseries; named by Miss Samantha Cordwell. Registered 10 January 2007 by David Edge, Forest Edge Nurseries, Woodlands,…

Flowers light pink, tubular, 20mm, 3mm diameter; arranged in terminal 4-flowered, or occasionally 3-flowered, umbels, on very short lateral branches. Synflorescences neat, spike-like, each with up to 6 whorls of flowering branches, on strong, erect, main branches; terminal apex of…

Flowers in terminal umbels; calyx with 4 free sepals; corolla 6–7mm long, urn-shaped, lilac-pink (H11); stamens 8, included; anthers with 2straight spurs; nectar produced; style-end capitate, about 4mm diameter, exserted: July - September, faded flowers russet in winter; mid-green foliage…

Golden leaves, turning greenish yellow in late summer, autumn and winter; some plants produce normal green branchlets. Hardy in the north of the Netherlands. Sport on 'Red Imp', flowering about 2 weeks later; found in Boomkwekerijen Bosch (Westerlee, Groningen, Netherlands)…

Hardier than some other clones. Collected in Serra da Estrela near Coimbra, Portugal, in 1972 by R. Zwijnenburg and introduced first in the Netherlands. Simailar to Erica arborea 'Albert's Gold', which featured earlier in the month, but with more profuse…

A sport from Erica arborea 'Alpina' propagated by Albert Turner in 1971(Birmingham, UK).

Erica x veitchii : Veitch's heath are a hybrid between tree heath (Erica arborea) and Portuguese heath (Erica lusitanica), represented in cultivation by at least five cultivars which vary in hardiness from zone 7 to zone 8. Veitch's heath can…

Darley Dale heath. Evergreen, low-growing shrub with dark green foliage throughout the year. Flowers rose-pink. Habit compact, after 3 years to 15cm tall, 25cm across. Flowering period October-January in southern England, to April in southern Sweden. Photograph © Sten-Bõrje Sõrensson…

Evergreen shrub attaining 1-4.5m in height; young shoots hirsute with simple, smooth hairs. Leaves in whorls of 4 (sometimes in 3s), linear to 7-0.5mm, light to dark green. Inflorescences usually numerous and crowded towards ends of shoots, appearing to form…

Erica x arendsiana 'Charnwood Pink' Pale pink (lilac (H4) deepening to shell-pink (H16)) flowers; mid-green foliage; tall, erect habit. Blooms throughout autumn and winter into early spring. One of the clones from Kurt Kramer (Edewecht, Germany), named after a borough in Loughborough, Leicestershire.…

A wild plant discovered at Lettergesh, County Galway, Ireland, and propagated by Susie and Alan Kay. Like all Calluna it requires lime-free acid soil.   Blooms from June to September with fragrant, "single" white flowers; anthers tan and style-end pink-tinged;…