Plant Taxonomy of Heather Plants:

Plant taxonomy classifies the winter heath plants I deal with in this article as Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean Pink'. The latter is the cultivar name.

Notice that, while sometimes referred to as heather plants, Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean Pink' is more precisely termed "winter heath." That's because, technically, the true heather plants are classified as Calluna vulgaris.

But the various types of Erica, which are closely related to Calluna vulgaris, are grouped with the latter and also loosely referred to as "heather plants." I use the two terms interchangeably in this article.

Plant Type:

Winter heaths are evergreen sub-shrubs, displaying a mounding growth habit with dense foliage.

Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean Pink' is a hybrid, its parents being Erica carnea and Erica erigena. For a picture of the former, see my image above.

Erica carnea is native to central and southern Europe, Erica erigena to Ireland.

Characteristics:

The leaves of Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean Pink' take on the form of tiny needles (as opposed to the scale-like leaves of Calluna vulgaris). The pink flowers are bell-shaped and almost totally cover the shrubs when these heather plants are in bloom. The common name "winter heath" alludes to the blossoming period.

But exact flowering time will depend on your location. Here in New England it begins blooming for me in November, so I could easily characterize it as a late-fall flower.

But blooms persist through the winter (during mild winters), so I could just as easily think of them as "winter flowers" (which sounds like an oxymoron to a New Englander). Then again, the floral color is still there in early spring when we've dug out from under the snowy blanket laid upon us by Old Man Winter, so it would not be unfair to call it an early-spring bloomer, vying with Adonis and witch hazel for Most Precocious honors.

Planting Zones:

Scotch heather (Calluna vulgaris), indigenous to northern Eurasia, can be grown as far north as planting zone 4, but Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean Pink' isn't quite so cold-hardy: Zone 6 is listed as its limit, although it can be grown in zone 5 if provided with optimal soil conditions and protection.

Sun and Soil Requirements for Winter Heaths:

Grow in full sun in the North for optimal performance. Like azaleas and rhododendrons and mountain laurel, for example, these small shrubs grow best in moist but well-drained ground that has an acidicsoil pH.

Uses:

As small shrubs with dense foliage, heather plants can be massed together to form a ground cover that will suppress weeds. Because they require good drainage, they are a candidate for rock gardens, but they do not tolerate dry soil as well as many other rock-garden plants, so choose their companions wisely.

Care: Pruning, Fertilizing, Watering, Mulching:

Prune (in this case, "shear lightly" is a better way of putting it) after flowering. When you fertilize, do so with the type of fertilizer you would use for azaleas and other acid-loving plants, or else use compost. But there's no need to fertilize every year. Irrigate in the absence of rain. Apply mulch to retain moisture in the soil.

Outstanding Features of Heather Plants:

With their evergreen foliage and a profusion of flowers at a time of year when few other things may be blooming, winter heath plants are valued by homeowners seeking year-round interest in the yard.

Closely-Related Cultivar:

There is also a cultivar of these small evergreen shrubs that has white flowers, namely Erica x darleyensis 'Mediterranean White'.

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