Heather Calluna vulgaris is a popular shrub that grows naturally throughout Poland - from the mountains to the dunes by the B altic Sea. The typical species grows most often in light forests or on their edges, in sandy, dry, even very arid sites.
In the garden, choose a sunny and possibly dry place for heathers , preferably with a moderately moist soil. The shrubs do not tolerate wet, heavy, and catchment soil - they dry up quickly on such soil, living for one or two seasons. If we insist on setting up a heather garden in such a difficult place, remember to uplift the rebate by at least 20-30 cm.Before that, let's use a 10 cm thick drainage, spreading a layer of gravel on the dug and previously leveled soil. Spread a 20 cm layer of cultivated soil over the drainage. In gardens with favorable soil properties, drainage is not necessary, it is enough to dig the soil, which should be characterized by a fairly high content of organic matter, i.e. acid peat, or previously composted oak leaves, pine needles, peat, fine bark and sawdust. These components are composted for a year, systematically agitating them every 2-3 months. An acidic reaction is the basic condition to be met when growing heathers. Of course, in the place where we plan a moor, we have to remove permanent weeds, such as couch grass, dandelion, thistle, combating them with a total herbicide.
After preparing the soil, we can start planting the plants. The shrubs are best combined in groups of one variety, then the color effect is clearly visible.
It is best to plant 10 plants per 1 m², which have been grown in small P9 pots. Before planting, soak the roots in water for two hours, then loosen them. It is very important to plant the heathers at the same depth as they grew in the pots. Shallow planting causes the root system to freeze. Before planting, it is also worth using mycorrhiza for heather plants, then the roots are immersed in dissolved mycorrhiza after soaking. The addition of mycorrhizal fungi contributes to better plant growth, heathers are also better adapted to unfavorable environmental conditions.
After planting the shrubs, we can leave other small heather plants on the heath, such as red briar with numerous varieties, marsh briar naturally occurring in peat bogs. Also of interest are ash briar, Darleian scattered briar, Watson's briar, Williams' briar. Interesting companionship will be ensured by the sharp-leaved cobblestone that blooms from May to August, Cantabrian dabby, nice-fruited goltery, various varieties of Japanese pieris and narrow-leaved squid, bearberry and larch.Dwarf varieties of rhododendron, such as dense, bell-flower and numerous varieties of Japanese rhododendron, will be very attractive during flowering (in April and May). We must remember about the fruity varieties of blueberry (cowberry) with the varieties 'Korale' and 'Red Pearl' with large fruits.
In trade we have a choice of dozens of heather varieties, in Polish collections and nurseries about 250 are currently cultivated. In the nurseries, there are 70 of the most popular and resistant ones, and every year numerous new ones from selection and breeding. The varieties differ in terms of flowering, the earliest ones develop their flowers already in June, such as 'Alba Praecox', 'Tib', and the late ones, such as 'Stefanie', only in October and November. They also differ in height - from very tall, growing up to 70 cm, like 'Hollandia', to low, ground cover, like 'Mrs. Ronald Gray's 10 cm tall. They also have different colors of flowers and their filling - from full to buds, there are also some that do not develop flowers.'Kinlochruel' and 'My Dream' varieties have full flowers. The color of the leaves is also the main distinguishing feature of many varieties. There are varieties with leaves in various shades of green, such as' Hammondii 'with deep green leaves', gray -' Dart's Silver Rocket ',' Jan Dekker ',' Velvet Fascination ',' Silver Knight ', yellow -' Aurea ', 'Boscoop', 'Carngold', 'Dart's Parrot', 'Gold Haze', 'Beoley Gold', 'Golden Carpet', 'Cotswood Gold', 'Firefly', 'Winter Red'. These colorful varieties are perfect for many attractive plant compositions.
Society for heathers
To diversify the heather bed, it is good to plant a few taller trees and ornamental shrubs adapted to the requirements of the heathers. The columnar varieties of common and intermediate yew, common juniper in the varieties 'Sentinel', 'Arnold', and 'Gold Cone' will perfectly match. Low varieties of mountain pine, such as 'Mops', 'Gnom', and grafted dwarf varieties of European larch 'Kórnik' and 'Repens', will also work well.Low junipers will also be ornamental, e.g. the common juniper 'Grin Caropet' and the creeping juniper varieties. The moorland cannot lack grasses, such as the low varieties of the Chinese miscanthus 'Silberturm', the reed vinegar as well as the blue and sheep fescue.
Moor care
Heath care consists in replenishing the acidic substrate, preferably with acid peat, and mulching plants with shredded pine bark. It is very important not to use fast-acting fertilizers, i.e. easily soluble in water, because they cause the loss of entire plants. Heathers have very modest nutritional requirements, so slow-acting multi-ingredient fertilizers, such as bone meal, horn meal enriched with microelements should be used. They are used at a dose of 30-50 g per 1 m². For the next two years of managing the heath, we systematically weed it, remembering not to expose the roots of the plants. Before the onset of winter cold, we cover the plants with tunics or a shade net.The cover will protect the plants from drying out and freezing in late autumn and winter. An important care procedure is trimming faded inflorescences on heathers, preferably from the end of April to mid-May, shortening the shoots only by the length of the inflorescences. This will allow for better branching of the shrubs and more beautiful flowering.
Interesting bud varieties
An interesting variety of heather are the so-called buds, non-opening varieties. As a result, they do not age quickly and remain decorative for longer, up to 3 months. They are perfect shrubs to decorate autumn balconies and terraces. They are also planted as seasonal plants. Popular white-flowered bud varieties are 'Alicia', 'Melanie', 'Sandy', 'Klaudia', 'Maria' and Martha '. Other bud varieties are 'Alexandra' - red, 'Annelise' - light purple, 'Anette' - pink, 'Aphrodite' - red, 'Arabella' - red, 'Bonita' - red, 'Dark Beauty' - light red, 'Golden Wonder '- pink,' Marleeen '- pink,' Nele '- dark pink,' Nina '- dark pink,' Perestrojka '- red,' Plantarium '- pink,' Red Favorite '- salmon red and' Verena '- light purple
