Within the heather family, botanists distinguish about 100 genera, and eight of them (blueberry and cranberry, chamedaphne, bearberry, larch, rhododendron, heather, briar) are represented in the country's flora.
In addition, in gardens and collections, there are also other heather plants introduced to Europe, cultivated for beautiful foliage and abundant flowering.Among those less popular in Poland, you can grow species of the genus: cobblestone, dabecia, enkianth, golteria, kalmia, cassiopeia, koulin, pieris and zenobia.
For proper growth and development, heather plants need a sufficiently low pH of the substrate, preferably in the range of 3.5-5.5, so before planting them, it is good to enrich the garden soil with the addition of acid peat and composted pine bark.
These plants have very little fertilization needs. Low shrubs like sunny locations, while taller shrubs with evergreen leaves prefer partial shade, and everyone is most favored by secluded and sheltered places.
Heather species for the discount
In compositions with taller plants, e.g. rhododendrons, pierises look good. Japanese Pieris Pieris japonica, depending on the variety, grows from 0.5 to 1.5 m in height. The flowers (usually white) gathered in the top panicles usually bloom in April. 'Red Mill' cultivar has interesting carmine-red increments, while the young leaves of 'Little Heath' are pink, later white-edged.
American Pieris floribunda is one of the valuable breasts resistant to low temperatures and enduring difficult growing conditions. Other shrubs from the heather family grow well together with pierises: with decorative, colorful leaves, the laurel branch Leucothoe fontanesiana, the wonderfully blooming bell-shaped enkianthus campanulatus or the large, lily-of-the-valley flowers Zenobia pulverulenta.
The original complement to the composition will be Kalmia latifolia broadleaf with leathery leaves similar to laurel leaves and interesting flowers appearing in June on the tops of the shoots. In 'Kaleidoscope' the flowers are red-purple with a bright border.
Heath species on the moor
Thanks to the varied flowering dates, planting several species of heather plants on the moor will allow you to enjoy their flowers almost all season long.
Bruckenthalia spiculifolia syn. Erica spiculifolia resembles heather in habit. Creates large clumps up to 20 cm high, blooming pink in June and July. 'Balkan Rose' is the most popular variety of bruxtonia. It is characterized by good frost resistance and can be grown all over the country.
An equally interesting evergreen shrub is the Cantabrian Daboecia cantabrica.It is also a shrub with long, sagging shoots and dark green elliptical leaves, blooming from July to September.
Establishing a moor step by step
Its flowers are shaped like teapots. The varieties differ in the color of the flowers: 'Alba' blooms in white, 'Bicolor' in light purple, 'Cupido' in dark pink, and 'Praegerae' in red.
Due to the incomplete frost resistance, the plants need to be covered in winter clothes. They should be planted in the warmest, sheltered and secluded places and pruned in spring. Similar to dabice, but slightly smaller flowers are formed by Cassiope lycopodioides.
It is an evergreen shrub with a dense, cushion-shaped habit, reaching 15 to 20 cm in height.Tinkerbell-shaped white flowers appear on the tops of shoots at the turn of April and May.The flowers resemble lily of the valley bells, which is why the cassiopeia is also called lily of the valley. Unfortunately, the cashier is sensitive to frost.
Charming golterie
Golteria Chilejska Gaultheria mucronata syn. Pernettya mucronata in its natural environment grows up to a meter in height, in Poland it reaches an average of 30-40 cm, and some of its shoots will spread on the ground. The shrub blooms in May and June, producing panicles of white flowers.
The actual decoration of this evergreen plant with reddening stems are spherical fruit, depending on the variety, from white to purple, which stay on the twigs throughout the winter.Since in our climate this species often smears, plants usually is grown in containers and used for interior decoration.
Gaultheria procumbens, an interesting and a bit more common species in gardens, is characterized by good frost resistance. Evergreen shrubs grow up to 10-15 cm in height, they grow widely with the help of underground runners, which is why these plants are perfect ground cover plants, creating dense carpets of leaves and fruits both in the sun and in the shade. The dark green glossy leaves turn red for the winter, and the young shoots are reddish-chocolate. In autumn, large, red, very ornamental fruits ripen on the plants.
Native species worth knowing
Among the little-known native species it is worth mentioning evergreen shrubs and dwarf shrubs that most often grow on bogs in bog forests. Rhododenron palustre, formerly known as the Rhododenron palustre marsh, grows up to 1 m in height. It blooms white in May and June.It is a poisonous and healing plant, under partial protection.
In the company of the marshes you can find Erica tetralix - a shrub that grows up to 70 cm high, blooming pink in June and July. The northern Chamaedaphne calyculata, which is almost completely unknown in cultivation, grows on similar sites - a weakly branched shrub with leathery leaves and small white flowers appearing in spring. Andromeda polifolia is much more readily available for sale, perfect for creating colorful cyan or blue cushions on moors.
It is an evergreen shrub with leaves resembling rosemary, growing up to 15-25 cm in height. Bright pink bell-shaped flowers gathered at the tops of the shoots bloom in May and June. The most interesting varieties of larch are: 'Blu Ice' with silver-blue foliage, green-leaved with a gray coating 'Compacta' and blue-blue 'Nikko'. All varieties are frost-resistant.Since Larch shrubs are fragile and can be easily broken, care should be taken when planting plants and their subsequent care.
Briar edible or ornamental fruit
The native heather plants also include shrubs bearing edible or ornamental fruit.Apart from the well-known Vaccinium myrtillus bilberry and Vaccinium vitisidaea lingonberry, found in forests throughout the country, where the fruit is used to make jams and preserves, the bog blueberry Vaccinium uliginosum grows in swamps and wetlands, and the mountain blueberry Vaccinium gaultheroioides and bearberry Arctostaphylos uvaursi in the mountains. The bog cranberry Oxycoccus palustris and the small-leaved cranberry Oxycoccus microcarpus are common in peat bogs.
