Heather

The heather plant (Calluna) is a member of the heather family. In nature, this evergreen shrub lives in Europe, in North African countries, in temperate Asian states, as well as on the North American continent. Heather adorns peat bogs, burnt-out areas, as well as forest areas. Often, other plants do not live in these areas, so heather freely spreads over long distances, forming the so-called "heather wastelands". According to one of the Scottish legends, only heather agreed to grow on inhospitable rocky hills, for which he was awarded by the Creator with endurance and beauty.

The only species of this genus is the common heather (Calluna vulgaris). It was on its basis that several hundred different varieties with different colors of foliage and inflorescences were obtained.

It is interesting that it is in honor of heather that the month of September is named in some Slavic languages. It is during this period that the massive flowering of this shrub occurs. A lot of creative works are also devoted to the unpretentious and persistent beautiful plant.

Description of heather

Heather is a small, branched shrub with creeping shoots. Its average height is about half a meter. Its triangular leaf blades are rolled up like a tube and are devoid of a petiole. Most often they are colored green, but they can also be silver, golden or reddish. The plant acquires the greatest decorative effect in the fall, after frost. During this period, the foliage of the plant changes color to yellow or burgundy. Small bell-shaped heather flowers are lilac-pink in color and form racemose inflorescences. Flowering plantings begins in mid-summer. At the same time, the flowers retain their appearance even in winter, in a dried state, which allows them to be used in dry bouquets. The beauty of heather is combined with its benefits. The plant contains a number of valuable substances, and honey obtained from its pollen is considered one of the most useful.

As a garden plant, heather is widely used to decorate rock gardens, framing paths, in group plantings or in combination with miniature conifers. Because of the love of heather for acidic soils, it coexists well with plants that prefer a similar environment. You can plant heather not only in the ground, but also in containers or pots. Some varieties of heather can decorate the house as houseplants.

Heather can grow in one place for a long time. Its layering, rooting, contributes to the spread of the bush. Due to this, the diameter of one plant can sometimes reach several meters.The life of the bush is several decades, but the first time the heather begins to bloom only at 5-6 years of age.

There are several ways to arrange a heather on your site - heather thickets. Bushes can be grown from seeds, dug up in nature, or purchased a ready-made seedling. In the latter case, it is recommended to choose strong plants with flexible branches, light buds and a closed root system. Such specimens take root better.

Brief rules for growing heather

The table provides a brief guide to growing heather outdoors.

Growing heather from seeds

Sowing seeds

Seeds are usually used to propagate heather - this is how the plant usually propagates in nature, but the process of growing them will take patience.

Despite their small size, the seeds have a high germination rate - up to 90%. They are superficially distributed in a container filled with moist soil, without deepening. For cultivation, a mixture of peat with sand and coniferous soil (2: 1: 1) is optimal. The container is covered with glass or foil and placed in a warm place, making sure to maintain a constant humidity level. It is especially important to control it in the first week after sowing. The sprouts appear in about a month. As soon as the seeds germinate, they are gradually hardened, opening the greenhouse. When the sprouts get stronger, they dive into their own pots or into a common, larger container.

Seedling care

In the summer, the seedlings are transferred to the garden, choosing a shady place for the container and keeping the soil moist. With the arrival of cold weather, the plantings are again taken to the room, but they choose a cool place for them, where it keeps about 10-12 degrees.

Seedlings are transplanted into the ground only in the second year of cultivation. At the same time, seedlings may not inherit the varietal characteristics of the mother bush and sometimes form a new variety.

Planting heather in open ground

The best time and place to land

Heather seedlings are planted in mid-spring - until early May, or in autumn - during September. Spring planting allows the bushes to take root better before frost. For planting, open light areas shaded at noon are best suited. Heather also tolerates partial shade places, but full shade will harm flowering. It is advisable to choose an area protected from strong winds for the flowers.

Bushes do not tolerate transplants well, so they immediately try to find the perfect place for heather. Sandy or moist soils rich in peat are optimal for the plant. Bushes will not be able to grow in alkaline or neutral soil - they need acidic or slightly acidic soil. At the same time, its nutritional value does not play a special role, but an excess of organic matter in the soil can have a bad effect on the growth of bushes. For acidification, you can add high-moor peat to the ground. In addition to it, the soil should include sand and soil from under coniferous trees. Sometimes for feeding 1 sq. m of soil add about 70 g of sulfur.

Heather's love for acidic soils is associated with one of the characteristics of these plants. The healthy growth of bushes largely depends on the symbiosis with the simplest fungi that live in acidic soil.Mushroom mycelium allows plant roots to survive even in the poorest of soils.

Landing features

Planting density depends on the size of the heather bushes. For 1 sq. m can fit about 6-10 plants. The bushes are buried in the ground by about 30 cm, trying to keep the root collar of the seedling at the level of the soil.

If heather is planted in clay soil, a drainage layer of about 7-10 cm must first be laid in the planting hole. It can be made from brick debris or sand can be used. Additionally, horny flour (about 40 g) is poured into the hole, as well as 20-30 g of nitrophoska. After transplanting, the seedlings are watered abundantly - about 5 liters of water should go to 1 bush. After that, the land near the plantings is mulched with chips of coniferous trees. It is in it that the mycelium, which is so necessary for plantings, can be contained. You can also use peat.

Heather care in the garden

Watering

Planting roots do not go to great depths, so the plants will need regular watering - especially in drought. Acidified water is used to moisten the soil. Ideally, the soil near the planting should always remain slightly damp. To reduce evaporation, the ground next to the heather must be covered with mulch. Heather is usually watered every couple of weeks. After watering, the land near the bushes is loosened by about 10-15 cm and the emerging weeds are removed. All these procedures are carried out directly through the mulch layer. To prevent the bushes from suffering from hot and dry air, you can spray them in the evening.

Top dressing

Heather will also need systematic feeding. In the middle of spring, mineral compounds are introduced into the soil (about 2 tablespoons of fertilizer per 1 bush), distributing them dry over the site. At the same time, the nutrient composition should not fall on foliage or flowers - its concentrated particles can leave burns on them. Fertilizer is buried in a layer of mulch, and then good watering is carried out.

Pruning

The heather is pruned every spring. This procedure promotes the formation of a more beautiful crown and activates the growth of fresh shoots. The first large pruning can be done 3 years after planting. They try not to change the shape of the crown of the bushes, simply cutting off the shoots just below the faded brushes. The cut parts of the plants are not thrown away, but crushed and poured onto a layer of mulch. In nature, it is its own litter that serves as a natural bedding for plants.

Wintering

In regions with mild winters, heather can hibernate without shelter. If there is a risk of little snow or very frosty winter, planting must be prepared in advance. With the onset of cold weather, the heather bed is covered with peat, and the bushes are covered with spruce branches. Such a shelter will protect plants from both frost and spring sunburn. Landings can be opened in April.

Heather propagation methods

Besides seeds, heather can also be propagated vegetatively. To do this, use layering, cuttings or dividing the bush. Cuttings are carried out in August. The tops of the shoots are cut from the plant, choosing the strongest flowering stems. They are rooted in pots filled with moist peat-sandy soil (3: 1). For rooting, the pots are kept in a cool enough (about 15-18 degrees) place, maintaining constant soil moisture. Once every couple of months, cuttings are watered with a solution of urea (1 g per 1 liter of water) or micronutrient fertilizers. In spring, the resulting seedlings can be transferred to open ground.

Bushes can give layering on their own: old shoots adhere to the ground and take root. To obtain such a layer, it is necessary to bend the lower stalk of the bush to the ground. For this, a large and mature shoot is chosen. It is fixed on the soil and covered with a thin layer of peat. After a year, the resulting cuttings can be separated and transplanted from the main plant.

The division of the bushes is also not difficult, it is carried out at the end of summer. An adult heather bush is dug out of the ground along with a lump. The rhizome is divided into parts so that each division has its own roots and shoots.Before planting, old stems must be cut off. The resulting plants are planted in their own holes, having previously processed all sections with crushed coal. Sometimes the plants are divided with a shovel right in the ground, and then they simply dig out the necessary division along with an earthen lump.

Pests and diseases

Heather is quite resistant to pests and diseases, but even this plant can be affected by infections. Heather growing in unsuitable and too heavy soil often suffers from gray rot. It is caused by frequent stagnation of water at the roots of the plant. Affected bushes become covered with bloom, and then their foliage and stems begin to die off. Rot should be dealt with with fungicidal preparations, for example, Fundazol or Topaz. In case of severe damage, plantings can be treated with a 1% solution of copper sulfate. This procedure is repeated three times, maintaining breaks of 5 or 10 days. In order to surely avoid the development of such diseases, you can carry out preventive treatment of plantings with fungicides in the spring, when the shelter is removed from the beds. Re-processing is carried out in the fall, as part of preparations for wintering.

The increased humidity of the soil and air contributes to the defeat of heather bushes by late blight, which is a fungal disease. The disease manifests itself in that the foliage falls off the plant, a gray bloom appears on the trunks and shoots. Shoots, mostly young, bent downwards and die off. To cure the plant completely, all branches affected by late blight are cut off, and the bush is necessarily sprayed with a 1% solution of copper sulfate. Three treatments should be done with an interval of 10 days. For the purpose of prevention, it is advisable to do the treatment even in late autumn and early spring.

Red-brown spots on the foliage indicate the appearance of rust. If the plantings are affected by powdery mildew, fresh heather growth may begin to wilt. At the same time, the foliage is covered with a characteristic white bloom. Such fungal diseases are also treated with fungicides.

Viral infections are manifested in deformation of the aerial part of the plant and uneven or unusual color of flowers and foliage. No drug can cope with such diseases. The affected bushes will have to be dug up and burned, and the soil from under them should be abundantly watered with a dark solution of potassium permanganate.

The scabbard, which sucks the sap from the leaves of the plant, is the main pest of heather. To get rid of the pest, a soap solution is used with the addition of insecticides to it, with a wide spectrum of action.

The best prevention of any pests and diseases of heather is the correct selection of the place and soil, as well as compliance with the conditions for caring for the flower.

Types and varieties of heather with photos and names

Common heather (Calluna vulgaris) - the only species of the whole genus. Erica from the same family is often confused with him, but these names should not be considered synonyms. Erica has thinner, needle-like foliage that has a peculiar scent. These bushes are more thermophilic, and their flowering usually occurs in the spring. At the same time, Erica can form buds in the fall. During this period, they resemble beads, and they bloom only in the next season. Heather blooms only towards the end of summer. Its flowers retain their attractive appearance even after drying.

Heather has about 500 different varieties. When choosing plants for growing in mid-latitudes, one should proceed from their winter hardiness. This will surely keep the planting in the beds for many years. Depending on the decorative qualities, the total mass of varieties is conventionally divided into 6 main groups:

1. Green-leaved

• Allegro - forms bushes about 60 cm high. The crown spreads over half a meter. The bark of this heather is dark brown in color, and its dark green foliage resembles scales. Flowering begins in late July and lasts almost until November. Simple, shiny flowers have a reddish-carmine color and form long, one-sided racemes.The variety is considered winter-hardy, only young plants will need shelter.
• Carmen - Dutch hybrid common in European countries. The bushes grow up to 40 cm. Flowers are collected in tassels up to 10 cm long. Their color is lilac-pink. The species has an average frost resistance and suggests the presence of a shelter.
• Barnett Anley - bushes up to 60 cm high and bright pink-lilac flowers.
• Darkness - Dutch variety up to 35 cm high. The flowers are purple, but slightly fade by winter.
• Mazurka - rounded, medium-sized bushes with crimson flowers.
• Marco - spherical bushes up to 40 cm in size. Inflorescences are painted in a ruby-red hue.
• Radnor - undersized English variety with delicate pink double flowers.
• Ross Hutton - small (up to 25 cm) bushes with dark crimson flowers.
• Hookstone - bushes up to 60 cm tall with pinkish salmon flowers.

2. White-flowered green-leaved

• Alexandra - bushes 30 cm in height have a spherical crown up to 40 cm in diameter. The foliage is painted in a rich green color, and the flowers have a light creamy shade. As they bloom, their color changes to dark red.
• Alba - bushes with erect shoots up to 40 cm long. The crown width is about 55 cm. Bright green foliage is complemented by dense snow-white inflorescences.
• Alec Martin - low, spreading bushes with white flowers and dark green foliage.
• Alba Jay - bushes up to 30 cm tall, green foliage is supplemented with yellow tips and retains this color all year round.
• White Lone - the height of dwarf bushes is only 5 cm, but the width reaches 40 cm. The peculiarity of the variety is the ability to form a carpet.
• Long White Is a Dutch, profusely flowering hybrid that does not form seeds. The height of the bushes reaches 60 cm.
• Humpty Dumpty - dwarf bushes up to 10 cm in diameter. Few flowers are white.

3.With silvery foliage

• Silver Knight - the work of English breeders. The height of the plants is about 30 cm with a width of up to 45 cm. The shape of the crown of this heather resembles a pillow. The foliage is colored silvery gray and has soft pubescence. In winter, the color of the foliage changes to burgundy. The flowers have a simple structure. They are painted in shades of lilac. The length of the inflorescences is 20 cm. The variety is moderately hardy.
• Peter Sparks - bushes up to 50 cm in height. The crown diameter reaches 60 cm. The small foliage of such heather has a dark green color in summer, but becomes grayish in winter. Double flowers are painted in bright pink color. They form long (up to 30 cm) inflorescences. Average frost resistance.
• Annmari Is a German variety derived from the above. The flowers are purple in color, gradually changing to pink. The variety does not give seeds.
• Velvet Fashion - rounded wide bushes up to half a meter in size. Silvery-green foliage takes on a darker shade by winter. Inflorescences are white.
• Glendwick Silver - plant height up to 20 cm, and width - over 45 cm. Silvery leaves are pubescent. The flowers are painted in a lavender shade.
• Jan Decker - undersized bushes up to 15 cm tall. Leaves are gray-green, pubescent. The flowers are pink-purple in color and appear in September.

4.With golden foliage

• Boscope - bred in the Netherlands. The height is 40 cm, and the crown is up to half a meter. In summer, the foliage is colored yellow-green, and in autumn it acquires a rich copper tone. The flowers are lilac-pink. They form weakly branching inflorescences. Average frost resistance.
• Andrew Proudley - the bushes grow up to only 15 cm with a diameter of up to 25 cm. Graceful twigs are decorated with orange foliage with light tips. In winter, the leaves become bronze in color. Loose inflorescences include small pink flowers.
• Aura - bushes up to 40 cm high. Golden foliage in winter acquires a reddish-brown hue. The flowers have a delicate purple color.
• Arran Gold - the bushes have a spherical shape and a small (up to 15 cm) height. With the arrival of summer, golden leaves turn lemon, and by winter - bronze. The flowers are painted lilac-pink.
• Blazeway - the height of the bushes reaches 35 cm, the yellow color of the foliage changes to bronze. The flowers are painted in a light lilac color.
• Gold Hayes - spherical bushes about 40 cm in height and diameter. The foliage is yellow all year round, and the flowers are white.
• Cottswood Gold - bushes up to 25 cm tall, have yellow foliage all year round. Inflorescences are white, from small flowers.
• Crimson Sunset - plant height reaches 20 cm, diameter - up to half a meter. Yellow foliage turns to bronze by winter. The flowers are bright, deep purple.

5.With double flowers

• Monica - forms spreading (up to 80 cm) bushes of half a meter in height. The stems are covered with green foliage, which takes on a grayish tint by winter. The flowers are red-pink in color, large in size and double structure.
• Autumn Glow - bushes 30 cm in height and 45 cm in diameter. Lodging shoots with raised tops. The foliage is rich green. The flowers are densely double, delicately lilac.
• Alba Plena - bushes up to 40 cm tall. The foliage is colored in different shades of green. The flowers are snow-white, the seeds are not tied.
• Dark Star - German variety, mutated from the Darkness variety. Up to 30 cm tall. The foliage is green, the flowers are shiny, reddish-ruby.
• Joan Sparks - dense bushes 20 cm in size. The foliage is colored green all year round, the flowers are lilac-pink.
• County Wicklow - low (up to 25 cm) bushes with green foliage and pale pink flowers.
• Red Favorite - cushion bushes up to 40 cm in height and over 65 cm in diameter. Flowers are painted in a delicate shade of pink.

6.With non-blooming flowers

• David Eason - forms shrubs-balls about 20 cm in size. Most of the branches are directed upwards. The foliage is dark green in color, and the short inflorescences are formed by bright pinkish-lilac flowers.
• Marlin - a variety obtained in Germany. The size of the bush is 30 by 50 cm. The foliage is colored green, and the inflorescences are lilac-pink or deep purple.
• Minima - a dwarf variety with a diameter of 15 cm. The foliage is green, in winter it is brownish. The flowers are mauve.
• Romina - Bushes 40 cm in height have dark green pubescent leaves and purple flowers that change color to pinkish.
• Fritz Kircher - Plants up to 30 cm tall with purple flowers and green leaves.

Heather in landscape design

Heather has found its wide application in landscape compositions of city parks, backyards and garden plots. This shrub goes well with tall and dwarf conifers, as well as ferns, berry crops and low deciduous trees. On backyards and garden plots, heather looks very beautiful in flowerpots and decorative boxes. Heather also grows well at home as a houseplant, for example, the varieties "wintering heather" and "slender heather".

The beneficial properties of heather

The beneficial properties of heather allow it to be used both in traditional medicines and in folk remedies. The plant is used for coughs, treatment of kidney diseases, stomach diseases, to combat rheumatism, as well as to correct skin problems. Heather can also help treat gout.

The preparation of heather for potions is carried out from the end of June to the beginning of autumn. During this period, flowering plants are the richest in useful elements. Parts of the bushes contain flavonoids, as well as various mineral salts and organic acids. Heather can have an antibacterial effect, fight inflammation, promote coughing, heal wounds, and serve as a urinary, diaphoretic, and sedative.

This set of properties makes it possible to use heather for the treatment of insomnia and nervous disorders, as well as for atherosclerosis.Heather can help with acidity and is considered beneficial for obesity or cholecystitis. Alcohol tinctures are used for tuberculosis. For sore throat, a decoction of the plant can be used for gargling. Heather flowers can be used to make a powder to help heal ulcers, burns and wounds. Baths with the addition of heather will help as a therapy for sciatica. Hair loss is managed by rubbing infusion of plant flowers into the scalp.

It should be remembered that heather preparations are not recommended for people with low stomach acidity. Parts of the plant can also cause allergies. Consult a physician before using any of these medications.