Calluna vulgaris
Heather
Common names: Common heather, Ling, Scotch heather, Summer heath
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Pruning
- Mar–Apr
- Flowering
- Aug–Oct
- Spacing
- 30 cm, rows 30 cm
- Water need
- Medium
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Aqwis (Aqwis) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Heather, botanically Calluna vulgaris, is an evergreen dwarf shrub that grows 20 to 50 cm tall and forms dense cushions with tiny, scale-like leaves arranged like overlapping roof tiles. From August to October the shoots bear long spikes of small bell-shaped flowers in white, pink, purple, or lilac. In bud-flowering cultivars, also called bud heathers, the flowers do not open, but the buds stay colored for weeks and decorate the plant into winter. In the wild, heather grows in Central Europe on heaths, at moor edges, and in open pine forests on acidic, nutrient-poor sandy soils. In gardens it is the classic plant for heather beds, rock gardens, and autumn planters. It needs sun and acidic soil and does not tolerate lime. Bees and bumblebees readily visit its late flowers.
Care instructions
Plant heather in April or September in a full-sun, open site with acidic, sandy-humus soil. On clay soil, mix in plenty of sand and acidic soil. Set several plants about 30 cm apart, and the area will close within two to three years. Set the root ball flush with the soil surface and press it down firmly. In the first year, keep the roots evenly moist; later, plants in beds usually manage with rainfall. In containers, water regularly, preferably with rainwater, since hard tap water is not tolerated well over the long term. The most important task is annual pruning in March or April: cut the shoots just below the spent flower spikes, but never into old, bare wood. Waterlogging, lime, and too much shade are the most common mistakes, and under those conditions the plant blooms poorly or dies.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringAug–Oct
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, humus-rich, well-drained, lean, lime-avoiding
Heather needs acidic, sandy, humus-rich soil that drains water well and stays low in nutrients. It feels most at home at a pH between 4.0 and 5.5; on chalky soil the leaves turn yellow and it dies off over time. Loosen heavy clay soils with plenty of sand and acidic ericaceous compost so that no water stands. Freshly fertilised garden soil or soil rich in compost is too nutrient-rich for it.
Feeding
Light feeder
Heather is adapted to poor soils and needs no fertiliser in the bed. In a container you can work in horn shavings sparingly once in spring. Avoid lime-containing fertilisers, compost and fresh manure; they do not agree with it and make the shoots soft.
Pruning
Cut heather back every year in March or April, before new growth begins. Shorten the shoots just below the spent flower spikes, so that a piece of green, leafy wood remains. It hardly regrows from old, bare wood. Regular pruning keeps the cushions dense and stops them going bare from the inside.
Overwintering
Heather is fully hardy and stays outdoors in the bed all year. Leave the spent shoots standing over winter; they protect the plant and look lovely with hoar frost. On sunny frosty days without snow it can dry out, and a loose covering of brushwood helps. In a container, place the pot against a sheltered wall, wrap it in horticultural fleece and water on frost-free days so that the root ball does not dry out.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- Layering
The most reliable way to propagate heather is from cuttings. In July or August, cut 3 to 5 cm long non-flowering shoot tips, remove the lowest leaves and insert them into a mix of sand and acidic compost. Keep the pots bright but out of full sun, and evenly moist; roots form after a few weeks. Layering works too: in spring, bend a long shoot down to the ground and cover its middle with sandy soil. Once it has formed roots, separate it. You only get true-to-type plants by these methods, as seedlings turn out differently from the mother plant.
For your garden
Grow Heather yourself
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