IN landscape design heather compositions can create an amazing play of colors on the soil. Creeping heather shrub, no higher than 70 cm tall, evergreen and blooming in autumn, will enliven any landscape. An indispensable plant in rock gardens and stone gardens.
Description of heather bush
The legendary shrub has a history of its appearance on earth as the most unpretentious plant, which the Creator settled on unsuitable land. As a reward for agreeing to live in eternal struggle, God endowed the plant with valuable qualities:
- the beauty of the evergreen leaves;
- healing properties;
- aroma and flowering at sunset of summer.
A low creeping shrub grows on acidic soil without standing close groundwater. The plant does not like swampy soil; it grows in symbiosis with fungi, which help convert lean soil into food, but can only exist in acidic soil. Without symbiosis with mycelium, the plant will die. Heather looks like a plant that has defeated the autumn withering of nature.
The leaves are rolled into a tube and do not fall off during the winter. Flowers after a long flowering do not fall off, do not change color, and create a picturesque spot. Garden heather presented by 20 varieties with different heights of the bush and a varied shade of flowers, small bells, which litter the branch in abundance. Heather flowers are honey-bearing and are used to treat inflammatory diseases in folk medicine.
A decoction of wild heather branches has long been used when bathing newborns to disinfect the water in the bath. The infusion was considered healing. Water was taken from a well, and heather tea was an antiseptic.
Propagation and planting of heather
The plant requires acidic soil and a dry, sunny area with light shade from nearby tall trees. This is a perfect imitation of a forest edge. To create acidic soil at the planting site, you will need to add topsoil, sand, and leaf humus with coniferous litter. A layer of fallen pine needles can be found in spruce thickets or collected under pine trees. All mineral fertilizer mixtures also have an acidic environment.
Planting ornamental shrubs is best done in the spring. Over the summer, the bush will take root and go into winter strong. Imported varieties Planting in open ground can only be done in spring for obvious reasons. To ensure that water does not stagnate at the bottom of the planting hole, you need to arrange drainage from broken bricks, pebbles, and sand. You need to create compositions by planting seedlings at a distance of up to 40 cm and a depth of 30 cm, while the root collar is not buried.
If the soil is clayey, create drainage by placing sand and broken bricks at the bottom of the hole. You can create plantings with a distance between the bushes of seedlings of 30-40 cm, the planting depth is also 30 cm, without deepening the root collar. The planted plant needs regular maintenance until it takes root. Planting and caring for heather in the first year will not cause difficulties.
Seedlings can be purchased at a specialized store, or you can take part of a bush, or grow a cutting. The seedling must be 1-2 years old. If a seedling is purchased in a container, then it must be alive, with shoots and the substrate must be moist, but not wet.
When planting, the neck of the seedling is not buried, and the planting hole is mulched with bark or peat.
Heather care
The plant is slow growing. The shoots grow only 2 cm per year. However, after three years young bushes need to be pruned annually so that new shoots appear. Otherwise, the bush loses its decorative effect. The plant likes limited watering, without stagnant moisture. Complete mineral fertilizers such as Kemira and phosphorus fertilizers will add decorativeness to the bush. Heather care during the growing season consists of shallow loosening of the soil, timely watering and mulching landing hole. For the winter, the plant needs shelter. In April the bush is opened.
The gardener will have bushes of wondrous beauty who spare no time in annually shortening old shoots. Then there will be more young flowering branches on the bush. Once he sees a photo of a heather plant in bloom, an amateur will try by all means to get planting material.
It is not difficult to propagate the plant; all parts of the plant are suitable for this, and it can be grown as a potted crop. For an amateur gardener, propagation may be of interest apical cuttings. In autumn, cut shoots without flowers and root them in a container with peat and sand. In winter, the plant will get stronger and can be planted in the ground. But individual containers with plants also look good in the landscape. Their root system is small and there is enough feeding area.
These same young plants are excellent propagation material. In nature, heather bushes are renewed by seeds and the rooting of twigs that have fallen to the ground. Therefore, the thickets of this plant become impenetrable from the springy perennial litter. In order to garden conditions The bush remained elegant and requires regular pruning and care. By creating a heather flowerbed, it will not be so sad in the autumn garden. Life goes on, flowering does not end for a long time. And I just want to leave a photo of common heather in an autumn garden as a souvenir.
Benefits of heather
The story about this amazing plant would be incomplete without knowing it. healing power. The particular usefulness of autumn heather honey is known to connoisseurs. In addition, dried flowers of the plant, its leaves and young shoots are used in folk medicine.
Self-medication is rarely beneficial. Before using traditional medicine, you need to consult a doctor and get a prescription for the drug.
Infusions and decoctions are made from dried material. Contraindications for use are constipation and low acidity. It relieves inflammatory processes occurring in any human organ. Powder and ointments are used to treat the skin. Baths are made with heather for joint diseases. Even hair responds favorably to rubbing the infusion of flowers. It turns out that heather is a home healer.
Features of planting and caring for heather - video
Heather - beautiful ornamental shrub about 70 cm high. It is covered with brown-brown bark and dark green leaves. During the flowering period, from late summer until almost the first frost, the plant is covered with a light cloud of delicate lilac-pink flowers.
IN natural conditions heather can be found in marshy areas. It was from there that they once brought a young plant to grow in their garden. The heather is painfully beautiful, especially in the flower garden. Many flower growers and gardeners love this plant and plant it on their plots. Although it cannot be called capricious, for successful cultivation and beautiful flowering, some effort must be made.
How to grow heather on your plot, planting, caring, growing this plant in the garden - this is what our conversation will be about today:
Planting and caring for heather
Upon purchase young plant with an open root system, pay attention to the presence of living buds and new shoots. This is important for successful growth and flowering. In general, it is better to purchase young heather in a container. Then the roots will not be damaged during transplantation. In addition, soil mushrooms from the container mixed with the soil during replanting will improve the rooting and survival rate of young heather.
When choosing a place for planting, you need to take into account that the plant does not like accumulation of water. Therefore, it is better to plant it on a hill where the soil dries out faster. He doesn't need straight lines either. sun rays. Therefore, plant it somewhere in the dark, next to tall tree, under the protection of the crown. Then the heather will bloom longer and the flowers will be more vibrant.
Plant in mid-spring (late April - early May). You can plant it in the fall - at the beginning of October. But it is better to do this in the spring, since then the roots will have time to strengthen over the summer. If the weather is dry during planting, water the plant more often.
Soil preparation:
Heather is not too demanding, so it can be grown in poor soils. But if you want to get a beautiful, lush bush with rich flowering, add a little peat, compost, sand and pine soil mixed with soil into the planting hole. If the soil is clayey, place drainage (sand, crushed stone and some broken brick) at the bottom of the hole.
Landing:
Plant young seedlings (1-2 years old) in a hole 20-30 cm deep. Just do not deepen the root collar too much. Maintain a distance of 40 - 50 cm between plantings. Fill the hole with the seedling with earth, compact it, and water it generously.
Watering:
Watering depends on the type of soil. If the soil is light, sandy or peaty, water more often. If the soil is clayey, water the shrub less often, 2-3 times a week. In addition, it is useful to spray the plant. Just do this not in bright sun, so as not to burn the leaves.
It is very useful for the well-being of the plant to slightly loosen the soil at the roots after watering, followed by mulching with finely broken tree bark, peat, wood chips and large sawdust. Thanks to mulching, the soil at the roots will remain moist longer and there will be fewer weeds on it.
Top dressing:
Heather loves it very much mineral supplements. Therefore, in the spring, loosen the soil at the roots and feed the heather with nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer.
Trimming:
The first couple of years should not be pruned. Remove only broken, frozen or dried branches. Then you can begin to form the bush. Pruning is best done in early spring.
If you want to cut heather branches to form a dry bouquet, cut them during the season, but not late autumn.
Diseases:
In general, heather is quite resistant to diseases, and it is not very afraid of pests. But fungal diseases he gets threatened quite often. And if you don’t fight them, the heather may die.
Therefore, if you notice a gray fungal coating on the bark, and the leaves begin to fall off rapidly, spray the bush generously with foundationol, or use a one percent solution of copper sulfate. Carry out the procedure 2-3 times a week, every other week. For preventive purposes, spray it in the spring, when you remove the covering material from the bushes.
In conclusion, I would like to note that heather is a beautifully flowering, ornamental plant, beloved by gardeners in many countries. He is loved for scenic view, long lasting, abundant flowering. Gardeners decorate alpine hills with heather bushes and plant them along borders and lawns.
Conclusion
If you like this plant, then after studying the information about it, you will be able to grow heather yourself - planting, caring for, and growing in the country will neither scare you nor cause difficulties in your life. Subject to the above simple rules you will definitely be able to grow healthy, beautiful plant. Good luck, dear gardeners!
Heather (Calluna) belongs to a monotypic genus of flowering representatives of the flora belonging to the Ericaceae family. Only common heather (Calluna vulgaris) is considered a natural species, but the number of its varieties, according to recent estimates, reaches half a thousand. The native lands of heather growth are considered to be the regions of Southeast Asia, but today the range occupies vast territories. May also occur in European lands and coastal areas Atlantic Ocean North American part of the continent, where it dominates temperate climate. This also includes Greenland, North African regions and the islands of the Azores archipelago. On the territory of Russia, heather is not uncommon in the West and East of Siberia, as well as in the European part of the state.
Calluna prefers to grow mainly in swampy areas on peat bogs, burnt areas and pine forests. In combination with some species that are included in the genus Erica, it can form large thickets called heather heaths or heathers. Such areas are given their first name due to the fact that if heather grows in a certain area, then no other plants grow there.
| Family name | Ericaceae |
| Life cycle | perennial |
| Type of growth | evergreen shrub |
| Reproduction | Using seeds or rooting layering, cuttings or dividing a bush |
| Open ground planting period | Late April or early May, September-October |
| Disembarkation scheme | Depends on the variety |
| Substrate | Sour, peaty or sandy |
| Illumination | Preferably an open sunny location, will tolerate partial shade |
| Required humidity | Moderate, moisture stagnation is undesirable, a drainage layer is needed |
| Special requirements | Unpretentious |
| Height | 0.3–0.7 m |
| Flower color | Mauve, white, crimson |
| Inflorescence shape | Racemose or umbrella-shaped, pronounced one-sidedness |
| Flowering period | Second half of summer |
| Decorative period | Spring-summer |
| Where is it used? | Borders, rock gardens, rockeries |
| USDA zone | 4–7 |
The plant owes its name to Greek word"kalunei" which means "to clean". And if we talk about the name in Russian, then its origins go back to the ancient Slavic “varisnets”, meaning “frost”, since the color of the foliage often had a whitish tint, as if the leaves were covered with frost. On Polish language you can find the name - veresen, verasen or wrzesien.
Heather is a shrub that can vary in height from 30–70 cm. It has evergreen foliage covering rather branched stems. The outlines of small leaves triangular, they somewhat resemble rolled tubes, but they do not have petioles. The color of the leaf blades can take on a bluish-white or, in extreme cases, a golden-orange tone. It is the latter shade and even burgundy colors that are characteristic of heather foliage after the period of the first frosts.
When flowering, an inflorescence is formed, which has a racemose or umbrella shape. At the same time, its outlines are one-sided. An inflorescence can contain from 5 to 30 buds. In appearance, heather flowers resemble small bells. The flowers have a hue that varies from snow-white to dark crimson. The length of the calyx exceeds the corolla, their color is lilac-pink. When flowering, a fragrant aroma is heard. Flowering begins in heather in the second half of summer.
Due to the large amount of nectar, heather thickets are considered an excellent honey plant and the resulting honey is the most useful of such products. Heather propagation occurs through seeds.
Since the plant is unpretentious, they like to decorate alpine hills with it and are planted along garden paths. Heather thickets are also used to form borders. For greater efficiency, it is recommended to plant nearby conifers dwarf size.
How to grow a heather plant in open ground - planting and care
- Placement for boardingheather is selected in sunny and, if possible, open place. As a last resort, partial shade will do. It is important to organize protection from drafts and wind.
- Soil.When caring for heather, it is important not to make a mistake with the soil. Limestone is absolutely not suitable; you need a moist and peat substrate or dry sandstones. Its acidity is maintained at pH 4.5–5.5. If you compose the substrate yourself, it is recommended to mix coniferous substrate (organic matter from tree bark), coarse sand, peat, in a ratio of 2: 1: 3. For acidification, top red peat is added.
- Planting heather. Best period for planting - the end of April or the first days of May. The operation can also be rescheduled for early to mid-autumn. Planting of seedlings is carried out in accordance with the variety. 6–10 bushes are planted per 1 m2, the depth of the hole is 25–35 cm. The bush is positioned so that the transition point of the stem into the root is level with the ground. If the soil is clayey, about 5–10 cm of drainage is placed in the hole. Bone meal (30–50 grams) and nitrophoska (20–30 grams) are also poured there. Each bush is watered with 4–5 liters of water. The soil is mulched after watering or rain. Subsequent transplants are not recommended.
- Watering.Since the roots are not elongated, regular moistening will be needed when caring for heather. If there is no precipitation, the water is acidified. The soil should always be slightly moist. To retain moisture, the surface of the earth next to the bush is mulched. Watering is carried out once every 14 days, and more often in extreme heat. After watering, the substrate is loosened. During long dry weather, evening spraying of the heather bush is recommended.
- Fertilizersneeded annually to maintain heather. When caring for heather, fertilizing is carried out in April. Take a complete mineral complex (such as Kemira Universal). If the preparation is dry, it is scattered on the ground and watered. It is important that the product does not get on the leaves and flowers.
- Trimming.IN spring period it is necessary to shorten the shoots in order to form a crown in order to stimulate the growth of young branches. Intensive pruning is performed for plants after 3 years after planting in open ground. Cut the branch to the middle or 2/3. The cut parts are crushed and scattered on the soil as a mulch layer.
Heather propagation methods
When caring for heather, both seed and vegetative method propagation (cuttings, layering and dividing the bush).
The seed method is quite long, but only 10% do not germinate seed material. A peat-sand composition or soil, including peat, coniferous soil and river sand(2:1:1). It is watered before sowing. The seeds are distributed on top of the soil without covering them. The container is covered with polyethylene, in some cases a piece of glass is placed on top. The temperature during germination is maintained at about 20 degrees and the first week will require high humidity. The first shoots are visible after 4 weeks. After this, the shelter begins to be opened a little every day so that the young heathers harden. After another month, you can carry out a dive - plant the seedlings in separate pots. Planting into a flower bed is carried out only when the plants reach 2 years of age.
When cutting heather cuttings at the end of summer, the blanks are taken from the tops of strong shoots. Planting is carried out in a flowerpot with a peat-sand mixture (proportion 3:1). After planting, the cuttings are placed in a place with a temperature of 15–18 degrees. It is better to keep the soil only slightly moist. When heather seedlings are 2 months old, it is recommended to fertilize with urea (at the rate of 1 gram of the drug per 1 liter of water) or use microfertilizers. In April, you can transplant into open soil.
Since old shoots can lie down and take root, many layerings are formed. You can also bend the branch to the ground yourself and secure it there, pour a layer of peat up to 1 cm on top. Soon the shoot will send out roots, but the rooted cuttings are separated only after a year and immediately planted in a prepared place in the garden.
Most easy way to propagate heather - divide the rhizome of the plant. With the arrival of August, an adult bush is dug up and the rhizome is carefully cut, but so that each part of the bush has roots and young branches. The cut is sprinkled with crushed charcoal. Before planting, the old branches are removed and the division is planted in a flower bed.
Protection from diseases and pests of heather plants
Heather diseases include:
- gray rot,which arose due to very dense soil or if after winter the snow quickly melted and moisture stagnated at the roots. The plant’s stems then become covered with a coating, then the leaves quickly die off, and then the branches. In case of illness, it is necessary to treat with fungicides (such as Topaz or Fundazol). When the damage to the bush is critical, it is recommended to spray 3 times with 1% copper sulfate every 5–10 days.
- powdery mildew,in which the foliage is covered with a loose whitish coating, and young branches begin to wither. Fungicide treatment is also needed.
- rust,manifested by reddish-brown spotting on the foliage. Spray with fungicidal preparations.
If a disease of heather grown in open ground, is viral in nature, flowers and foliage acquire an uneven and unnatural color. The disease cannot be treated, the bush must be destroyed, and the soil is treated with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Pests rarely attack heather.
Heather in gardening
If we talk about useful substances, flavonoids are present in heather flowers and branch tips. They are derived from substances such as quercetin and myricetin. It also contains the glycoside arbutin, which contains tannins and essential oil, there are polysaccharides. Because of such components, heather is made medicinal preparations. At the same time, heather products can have an anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic effect, promote wound healing, and have an astringent, cleansing and sedative effect.
Like other varieties, heather honey is considered an antiseptic. For a long time, healers have used it for bronchial asthma; it helps cleanse the blood and can serve as a diuretic. It is used to remove stones from bladder and kidneys, relieve symptoms of joint inflammation. In homeopathy, heather tincture is often prepared.
Heather varieties
Common heather (Calluna vulgaris)the only one in the family. Heather is mistakenly called Erica, which is its close “relative,” but in essence these are different representatives of the flora. There are a very large number of different varietal options, their number reaches 500 units. Basically, gardeners divide them into 6 types.
Type I - has green foliage:
- Allegro.The height reaches 0.6 m, with a width of 0.5 m, the branches grow densely, close together. The shoots are covered with dark, brownish bark. The scaly leaf blades are green to black. Flowering process: from mid-summer to late October. The size of the flowers is small, the petals are shiny, carmine-red, the inflorescences are elongated. The plant is frost-resistant; with the arrival of winter, young bushes are covered.
- Carmen.Selected in Holland. The branches do not exceed 30–40 cm. The outline of the bush is spherical, the size of the leaves is small, the color is emerald. The color of the branches is dark brown. The shape of the pinkish-purple flowers is simple. The length of the flower clusters is 10 cm. The plant is frost-resistant, but it needs shelter for the winter.
Among gardeners, the most famous varieties are: Radnor, Darkness, Ross Hutton, as well as varietal variations of Mark, Hookstone, Mazurka, Barnett Enley and the like.
Type II with snow-white petals and green foliage:
- Alba.The bush will not grow higher than 40 cm, the shoots are erect, the diameter reaches 55 cm. Rich green leaves form on ascending shoots. Racemose inflorescences of high density are formed by buds with white petals.
- AlexandraThe crown of the bushes is in the form of a ball, while its diameter is 0.4 m, and the height of the bush is only 0.3 m. The leaves are dark green, the petals in the flowers are initially pale cream in color, but by the end of the process they take on a burgundy color.
Varieties that are successful with gardeners are: Alba Jay, Long White, and such as Humpty Dumpty, Alec Martin and others.
Type III with grayish-shiny foliage:
- Silver night.Selected in Great Britain. The shoots grow only up to 0.3 m, the bush is dense, cushion-shaped, with a diameter of 45 cm. The branches are dark brown. Foliage with silvery tint, surface with pubescence. In winter, the color of the leaves is measured for burgundy. The inflorescences are racemes 20 cm long and consist of simple soft pink or lilac flowers. Despite frost resistance, winter shelter is required.
- Peter Sparksbrought out by the British. The bush is 0.5 m in height, oval, with a width of 60 cm. The branches are brown, the leaves look like scales, small. Initially dark green, with the arrival of winter they become greenish-gray until summer. Double-shaped flowers with dark pink petals. The length of the inflorescences is approximately 30 cm. Frost resistance is moderate.
The following varieties are popular among gardeners: Annmary and Jan Dekker, as well as Glendwick Silver, Velvet Fashionable and others.
Type IV is distinguished by the golden color of the foliage:
- Andrew Praudli.The height of the bush is 15 cm, the crown diameter is 25 cm. Thin branches are widely ascending. The leaves are light yellow or orange in color; in winter their color changes to bronze. The inflorescences are loose, consisting of pink flowers.
- Boskop- the variety was bred by the Dutch. Its height does not exceed 0.4 m, a compact bush with a diameter of 0.5 m. The color of the bark is dark brown. The yellowish-green foliage turns coppery red in autumn. The color is simple, the color is mauve, the inflorescences are sparsely branched, the length is 0.1 m. Frost resistance is moderate.
Varieties that are popular are Gold Haze, Aura, Cottswood Gold, and similar ones - Arran Gold, Crimson Sunset and Blazeaway.
Type V combines bushes with double flowers:
- Autumn Glow.Spreading bush, height - 0.3 m, width - 45 cm. The tops of the branches are raised. The tube leaves are dark green. Dense short brushes are collected from densely double pale pinkish flowers.
- Monica.The crown of the wide-spreading bush is 0.8 m, it is no higher than 55 cm. The shoots are very strong. The dark emerald leaves are covered with a grayish coating in winter. The shape of the flowers is double, the color is reddish-pink. They form loose clusters of inflorescences.
The varieties that stand out are Dark, Star, County Wicklow, as well as Red Favorite, Alba Plena and Joan Sparks.
Type VI is distinguished by the fact that the formed buds do not bloom:
- David Eason.The height of the spherical bush is no more than 0.2 m, width 25 cm. The branches grow ascending. The leaves are dark and green. Short racemes form dark lilac-pink buds.
- Marlin- variety from Germany. The height of the bush does not exceed 0.3 m, the width of the bush is 50 cm. The bark of the branches has a dark brown color. The leaves, rolled into tubes, are dark and green. The buds do not open; the petals are mauve or deep purple.
The varieties that are most loved by gardeners are Fritz Kircher, Minima and Romina.
Video about growing heather:
Photos of heather:
It will take 8 minutes to read
The decorative and medicinal qualities of common heather are known everywhere. Due to the duration and abundance of flowering, unpretentiousness and long life cycle, common heather is very attractive to gardeners, especially since approximately fifty varieties of this plant are offered for growing in the garden. Growing heather will not be difficult if you know the characteristics of the plant and some rules for planting and caring for heather.
About the plant
Common heather is the only species of the heather family.
Heather grows in pine forests, in burnt areas, and on peat bogs. There it forms thickets called heathers.
Common heather is a small evergreen branched bush from 200 to 800 mm high, pubescent with small dark green leaves in the shape of a trihedron. The crown is almost perfectly rounded, the bark on the branches is gray-brown. Heather flowers are small, pinkish-lilac, collected in voluminous inflorescences, thanks to which from a distance the common heather bush resembles a light pink cloud.
Flowering of common heather begins in early July and lasts until early September. Depending on the time of blooming, the color of the flowers ranges from pale pinkish to deep purple.
When flowering, heather emits a very attractive honey aroma, which is why it is used in the perfume industry. Having settled in your garden, common heather will also delight you with its wonderful smell.
The root system of common heather is located horizontally, which helps it receive nutrition from upper layers soil.
Features of heather
Climate and soil
Common heather is ideal climate zone central Russia.
It prefers to grow on peat and mixed sandy soils, on which it blooms long and profusely. But heather is very unpretentious, it grows well on poor, poorly fertilized and acidified soil, the main thing is that it is loose enough.
Ideal for planting common heather is a mixture of 3 parts peat, 1 part sand, 1 spruce soil or pine forest and 1- sawdust.
Landing location
Common heather grows in the wild on the slopes of hills and mountains, so for planting it in the garden you should choose a quickly drying, sunny place with the possibility of shading on a hot afternoon and without excessive moisture.
Boarding time
It is better to plant common heather in the ground either in spring or early autumn. Spring, however, is preferable, since young plants have plenty of time to take root before winter.
Heather planting time
How to choose a seedling?
When choosing a young plant, pay attention to its appearance:
The plant should have green unblown buds and new fresh shoots.
The bark on the branches should be smooth and glossy. If there are dying scabs on the bark, the plant has likely already been reanimated. Don't buy it.
The soil in the pot should be slightly moist, not wet.
There should be no gaps between the walls of the pot and the soil.
Planting and caring for heather
Planting and caring for heather will take very little time if the planting site is prepared correctly.
Planting heather
Landing
When planting several plants, you should maintain a distance of about forty centimeters between them, as the plant grows in breadth.
- It is necessary to remove the soil in the place intended for planting using one shovel bayonet.
- The resulting hole must be filled with prepared soil mixture. Then the soil should be compacted and watered aqueous solution sulfuric acid (50 ml of sulfur per bucket of water), which, if unavailable, can be replaced with a solution of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Remove the seedling from the pot, carefully remove the soil from the roots, untangle and straighten the roots.
- Bury the plant 20 centimeters into the soil, leaving the root collar above the ground level.
- Sprinkle the roots with soil mixture and compact them a little to prevent further subsidence.
- Water the plant generously.
(see photo heather planting and care)
Care
Watering. Young plants should be watered with acidified water 1-2 times a week, avoiding waterlogging and drying out of the soil. This will contribute to more intensive growth and rapid vegetation of the plant. Having developed and strengthened, common heather will not require frequent watering.
Loosening. Common heather loves mulched soil. Several times a season it is necessary to carry out this operation, using pine needles, dry grass, straw, sawdust, and conifer bark.
Trimming. It is best to do it in the spring, after the buds open. This will prevent you from accidentally cutting off living branches to replace dead ones. Cutting is usually done under the places where last year's inflorescences formed.
Covering. On winter period Common heather plants are covered with spruce or pine branches.
Do not fertilize common heather! Contributed upon planting nutrients It will last him almost his entire life.
If the planting and care requirements are met, the heather will soon produce its first flowers.
Heather care
Heather propagation
How can heather be propagated?
Grow from seed. The seeds of common heather are very small, so it is better to sow them at home, using a container with low edges for sowing. Spill a small amount of soil warm water, then put in the seeds, pressing down lightly and sprinkling a little earth on top. Cover the container hermetically with film, which will help prevent the soil and seeds from drying out. The seeds will sprout approximately 30 days after sowing. Seedlings in warm time years, they take it out into the fresh air so that it grows. They are planted in a permanent place in the garden after 1.5-2 years.
If you don't want to wait that long, you can root the cutting. They are cut from the upper parts of the plant at the very beginning of autumn, but it is not recommended to cut branches of flowering bushes for rooting. It is recommended to root common heather in separate pots with a peat-sand mixture. Cuttings grow faster than those obtained from plant seeds and bloom earlier.
For propagation by dividing the roots, the root collar of common heather is sprinkled with a peat mixture at the beginning of summer. This promotes the development of new roots. At the beginning of autumn, the heather bush is dug up and divided into parts without shaking off the soil.
To propagate common heather by layering, strong developed shoots are sprinkled with soil mixture and secured close to the ground for rooting. A year later, the shoot is carefully cut off from the mother bush and planted in a permanent place.
Heather propagation
Houseplant heather
Those gardeners who want to admire heather and inhale its aroma in winter grow houseplant heather
The varieties of slender and wintering heather are best suited for home breeding.
Slender heather is an elegant-looking bush up to forty centimeters high with small leaves resembling short thick needles and small flowers from 5 to 10 mm of a bright pink-scarlet hue.
Wintering heather reaches a height of fifty centimeters, its flowers have white and elongated shape.
At home, heather requires slightly different care than its outdoor counterpart.
Feeding. It should be produced twice a year, in the spring before the growing season and in the fall after flowering.
Spraying is carried out from the last ten days of spring to the first ten days of autumn to prevent the appearance of insect pests.
Watering. The soil in the pot should not be allowed to dry out or crack.
Transfer. It is carried out annually due to the growth of the root system. The soil is not shaken off from the roots.
Heather needs fresh air, but you should not expose it to a draft.
Acidity control. It is sometimes necessary to acidify the soil in which heather grows with ash.
Trimming. Done after the end of the flowering period to shape and remove old branches.
Fungal diseases. When the soil becomes waterlogged, the heather gets sick. It is difficult to save the plant, so you should not water the heather too often and abundantly.
Indoor heather
Heather varieties
Most beautiful varieties heather are:
“Mulion” is a creeping shrub, 15 to 20 cm tall. The flowers are violet-pink and bloom in early autumn.
"Barnett Enley" is a large shrub with powerful branches 60 cm high. The color of the flowers is bright, pink with a lilac tint. Flowers are arranged in elongated narrow racemes.
“Battle of Erimern” has a round shape and reaches a height of 60 cm. Pink double flowers are arranged in dense inflorescences.
“Marco” is a spherical bush up to 40 cm high. It blooms with bright ruby flowers in September.
“Radnor” is a low bush, 20–30 cm high, flowers with pale pink, almost white inflorescences.
"Hammonday" is an English variety with a height of up to 40 cm. It blooms very profusely with white flowers of simple shape.
"Boskop" - reaches a height of up to forty centimeters, has a green - yellow leaves in summer and copper-red in autumn. The flowers are lilac-pinkish.
Heather seeds
Useful properties of common heather
Common heather not only pleases the eye, it also has many beneficial properties.
Heather decoction is used as a sedative. It will help with nervous conditions and improve sleep.
Heather perfectly disinfects. Heather leaf powder will help with ulcers, cuts, and burns.
Heather honey has a huge range of beneficial properties, although it is inferior in taste to other types of honey. Heather honey has a rich reddish color; unlike other types of honey, it is not candied, but turns into a thick, dense jelly.
An infusion of heather flowers is used to heal the scalp and make hair beautiful. To do this, rub it into the hair roots.
If you gargle with a decoction of heather, sore throat, diseases of the mouth and throat will be avoided.
An alcoholic infusion of heather is used internally for tuberculosis.
Plant heather in your area. Common heather will give joy to the eye with the uniqueness of floral shades and uncomplicated forms, and its unsurpassed, unobtrusive aroma will refresh the senses and give peace.
How to plant heather correctly (video)
Heather garden (video)
The genus heather has only 1 species called “common heather,” which, however, is divided into several dozen varieties, different in color of flowers and foliage.
The plant is remarkable and very valuable in floriculture, since in the places where it grows it forms a thin layer of acidic, mineral-depleted soil of a dark gray color with impurities white sand- the so-called “heather land” which is considered excellent flower soil. Heather is also distinguished by its honey-bearing qualities, producing heather honey.
Varieties and types
It grows in the Russian Federation, Asia Minor, Africa, also called wild heather, loves coniferous forests, sands, marshy areas and tundra. This is an evergreen, not tall (from 20 to 70 cm in height) shrub with a compact, almost rounded crown and dark-brown bark.
Its dark green foliage measures approximately 2*1 cm in length and width, and its lilac-pink (rarely white) flowers form dense tassel-shaped inflorescences up to 25 cm long. It blooms from July to August with the formation of fruits in the form of 4-leaf capsules up to 2.5 cm in length, life expectancy is approximately 30 years, decorative properties endowed during the period of the rich and long flowering, considerable importance is given to beautiful leaves.
It is winter-hardy, so it can spend the winter uncovered. Thanks to the efforts of cultivators, in our time there are many varieties of common heather, conditionally divided into several groups: heather with green foliage, with green foliage and whitish flowers (white heather), with silver foliage, with golden foliage, with double flowers, with flowers that do not open .
Includes 2 varieties most adapted to home conditions - heather slender And wintering . The first is characterized by a height of up to 40 cm, light green leaves up to 5 mm in length and pink-red flowers up to 10 mm in length, bell-shaped, placed at the ends of the side stems in 4 pieces. The second variety is characterized by a bush height of up to 50 cm and enlarged (up to 2 cm in length) white bell-shaped flowers.
These are representatives of heather varieties, in which decorativeness is manifested in the annual long and lush bloom within approximately 2 months. This includes, for example, the variety “ Allegro ”, belonging to the green-leaved group. It can reach 60 cm. The diameter of the crown is 50 cm. Red flowers are collected in oblong inflorescences. The variety is winter-hardy, recommended as ground cover plant.
- those varieties that are most effective in group plantings in heather gardens. These include the above-described “ Allegro " Variety “ Hammondii ” is a member of the white heather group. Its height is 40 cm, the crown reaches 50 cm in diameter. The flowers form oblong (more than 20 cm) inflorescences. It is resistant to drought, relatively resistant to winter frosts - during prolonged cold spells it requires shelter. Used on alpine slides.
From the group with golden-colored leaves, it grows up to 30-40 cm in height, its crown is 40-50 cm in diameter. It is noteworthy that the color of the leaves of this variety changes from yellowish-green in summer to reddish-orange in autumn, while of young specimens the foliage is more intensely colored.
Thanks to its pink-purple flowers, Boskup falls under the external classification “ heather pink ”, which includes many other varieties of heather. Its inflorescences are quite small (about 10 cm), weakly branched. Used as a ground cover plant.
From the group with double flowers, they are also widely used in gardening. Its height is 20 cm, and the diameter of the crown is up to 50 cm. The foliage, grayish-green in spring and winter, acquires a darker shade at other times of the year. Reds double flowers are collected in dense inflorescences more than 10 cm. The variety is extremely beautiful, having a more pronounced flower color compared to other varieties.
Variety with non-opening flowers - Heather Marleen has a height of up to 30 cm, a crown with a diameter of up to 50 cm and dark green foliage. The color of the buds that do not open is pink-lilac or bright purple. Recommended, among other things, for planting in cemeteries.
Dense spreading with a crown diameter of 40 cm and a height of 25 cm. The shade of foliage in summer is variegated green and with the onset of winter it becomes darkish bronze. Very beautiful whitish double flowers are united in loose tassels.
The varieties grown in Russia differ in both color and flowering time. They bloom first Alba Praecox ” (with white inflorescences) and “ Tib ” (with purple-pink) - the period occurs at the beginning of July. Closing the “chain of flowering” varieties “ Alexandra ” (with red inflorescences), “ Alicia ” , “Melanie " And " Sandy ” (all with whites), “ Larissa ” (with light red ones), “ Marleen " And " Marlies ” (both with purple) - in the last days of September - the first days of October. By skillfully combining heather varieties, you can organize original site, blooming until the end of autumn, but it is worth considering that certain varieties need to be covered in the fall.
Heather planting and care
Planting heather at home or in the garden involves creating conditions close to natural - acidic soil, a well-lit area, sufficiently large volumes of moisture combined with sufficient soil permeability.
For areas where frosty winters prevail, heather should be especially intensively moistened before the soil freezes. Optimal time for planting heather in open ground, the end of September - beginning of October, or the 2nd half of April - beginning of May is considered, and spring planting more preferable.
Watering heather
The presence of moisture is especially important when it comes to young heathers just bought in a store, because their roots are still poorly developed. Immediately after planting, it is recommended to water each heather bush with 5-6 liters of water and mulch the planting areas with wood chips coniferous trees or peat.
Heather responds well to mulching with leaf humus, sawdust, pine needles or crushed bark, which acidify the soil. At the same time, mulch inhibits the growth of weeds and protects root system from the summer heat and winter frost, and, most importantly, maintains the proper level of soil moisture.
Replanting heather
Heather has an extremely negative attitude towards replanting, and therefore it is better to think through all aspects of care and cultivation so that the plant does not have to be replanted at all. First of all, this concerns the place for growth and flowering - you need to decide on it immediately and for a long time. It is recommended to buy heather in containers.
Feeding is not particularly important for heather, because under natural conditions it grows on depleted soils.
Heather pruning
But the annual spring pruning, maintaining the required shape and stimulating the growth of young animals, is absolutely mandatory. From the 3rd year after planting, intensive pruning of heather begins, in which they try to maintain the shape of the crown.
Pruning looks like this: holding the inflorescence with one hand top part, the other cut off half or two-thirds of the inflorescence. The resulting residues are crushed and the soil is additionally mulched with them.
Is it necessary to cover heather for the winter?
If you grow heather in a warm area, you do not need to cover it for the winter. In cases with frosty winters, moreover, not snowy, it is worth laying peat around the circumference of the bushes after the onset of cold weather, covering the plants themselves with spruce branches. The shelter can be removed in April.
Propagation of heather by seeds
Heather propagation using seeds is carried out in home environment, for example, in bags, without embedding in the soil. The seeds are covered with glass until germination. The most suitable substrate for cultivation is peat, coniferous or heather soil and sand in proportions 2:1:1. The optimal temperature for germination is 18-20°C.
30 days after sowing, the seedlings should sprout. In the first week from now on, you should maintain increased level humidity. In the summer, seedlings in boxes need to be taken out into the garden, grown, and hardened off. When one and a half to two years have passed, you can plant the plants in a stable place.
Heather propagation by cuttings
For propagation by cuttings, cuts are made from powerful stems in last days August, but not from flowering shoots. Rooting is recommended to be done in separate pots with peat and sand. The requirements for the substrate are looseness, poverty and constant moisture. Temperature is in the range of 15-20°C.
Heather propagation by layering
Propagating heather by layering is quite simple. When summer comes, you need to sprinkle half a centimeter of peat on the mature shoots and fix them in the soil. After the roots have developed (a year after powdering is the usual period), the regrown seedling is carefully detached from the parent and planted in a stable place.
Diseases and pests
Heather is not afraid of pests and is not often affected. May occur gray rot due to stagnation of water in the roots during the rapid spring thaw. It is expressed by a characteristic coating on the stems, falling leaves or its death. IN in this case it is necessary to treat with fungicides, preferably Fundazol or Topaz.
If symptoms intensify, it is better to treat with 1% copper sulfate 3 times a day at intervals of 5-10 days. Lesions caused by powdery mildew are characterized by drying out of young growth and a white coating on the leaves. Just as in the case of rot, from powdery mildew Fungicides help. It is worth noting that if the heather is in soil that fully meets its requirements and receives proper care, he doesn’t care about pests.
Heather medicinal properties and contraindications
The medicinal qualities of heather are recognized in both official and folk medicine. The compounds it contains have a calming, sedative, expectorant, healing, antibacterial, diuretic and diaphoretic effect on the human body.
Heather tincture
Heather tincture is used in the treatment of gastritis, dropsy, neurasthenia, inflammation of the kidneys and bladder.
You can prepare it as follows: take 2 tablespoons of vegetable raw materials and 2 glasses hot water, mix thoroughly, keep in a water bath for 20-30 minutes, then leave for several hours.
After straining, you can take 2 tablespoons daily after meals. You should start with a single dose per day, subsequently increasing the number to 3. The duration of treatment is a week.