Heather(Calluna vulgaris) is a graceful evergreen shrub that decorates gardens in autumn. Heathers can be planted in garden beds, in groups and as single specimens, as well as in flower pots and balcony boxes. They look great in rock gardens and as cover plants. They can be planted over entire stretches of the garden, creating moors imitating forest glades. See whatgrowing heather in the garden looks likeand learn3 important secrets of growing heatherthat hardly anyone talks about!
Heather is a charming decoration of the autumn garden
Fig. pixabay.com
Heather - varieties
Heatheris the only species belonging to the genus Calluna vulgaris, fortunately available in many garden varieties.Individual varieties differ in habit, color of flowers and height achieved. We can find here both creeping varieties that grow only up to 10 cm in height, and varieties with an upright habit, growing up to over 60 cm in height. Most often, however, heathers reach 20 to 30 cm in height.
Good to know
Among the available heather varieties, special attention should be paid tobud heatherIn these heathers flower buds are not are opening up. Drying in their buds for the winter, they keep their color for a long time, sometimes until spring!
Bud heatherare perfect not only for garden beds but also for planting in containers on balconies and terraces, where they blend well with miniature conifers. Planted in a decorative pot and dried, they can decorate your home until spring.
Heather flowerscan be white, orange, pink, red, purple to purple, but the color of the leaves also varies.Most often, heather leaves are light or dark green to grayish, but there are also specimens with yellow-green, golden or reddish leaves. In terms of leaf color,common heather'Boskoop', whose yellow leaves turn orange in autumn, is very interesting. It is a variety of short growth (up to 25 cm tall), valued for its longevity and frost resistance. In turn, in 'Sandy' the leaves are lemon-yellow and remain so throughout the year. It is the first variety of yellow-leaved bud heather.
Usuallycommon heatherblooms in August or September, but we can also find late-flowering varieties such as 'Alicia' with flowers they only appear in October.
Heather can bloom in white, pink, red, purple and even purple
Fig. pixabay.com
Heather - cultivation
Blooming heathersappear in flower shops and garden stores at the end of summer.During this period, we most often buy them and either grow them in pots or plant them in gardens. Unfortunatelycommon heather grown in the apartmentwill end its life quickly, so it is worth planting the purchased plant in the garden or at least in a balcony box.
In garden cultivationcommon heather best plant in open and sunny positions, away from deciduous trees shedding their leaves for the winter. It requires humus, well-drained and acidic soils (pH 4.0 to 5.5). When preparing the stand forheather cultivationgarden soil should be mixed with acid peat or compost soil.
Common heather - planting
Young plants are planted deep enough so that the lowest shoots touch the ground.Common heathercan be planted in a bed or rockery in combination with other plants. However, heathers look best when planted in groups, resembling a natural forest heather.
Heather should be combined with other plants to create colorful compositions
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Heather is best plantedin groups of several to over a dozen of one variety, which allows the discount to obtain the effect of colorful stains. However, remember not to plant heathers too densely and leave them some space for expansion. Depending on the strength and growth rate of a given variety, plants are usually planted at intervals of 20 to 30 cm, which is between 10 and 15 plants per square meter. After planting, the soil around the heathers should be watered abundantly and mulched with acid pine bark - it will prevent the soil from drying out, growing weeds, helping to keep the soil pH low and providing a decorative effect.
Heather - fertilization
Fertilization requirements of the common heather are low. If we use loose or granulated fertilizers,fertilization of heathers is enough to be done once in spring , using organic fertilizers (in the garden you can put compost under the heathers, but it is advisable to make it acidic) and mineral fertilizers for acidophilic plants.
There are also fertilizers specially designed for heathers, such as, for example, the Kwne Pole soluble fertilizer for heathers and the 1L liquid fertilizer for heathers. I especially recommend a soluble fertilizer, because in a small package of 150g we will get fertilizer for the preparation of 300 liters of solution for watering heathers. So it comes out very profitable!We can water the heathers with liquid fertilizers every 2-3 weeks from April to the beginning of September
Mycorrhiza for heathers
Mycorrhiza brings fantastic effects in the cultivation of heathers, which can be introduced with the use of a vaccine with live mycorrhizal mycelium. This vaccine contains beneficial fungi that coexist with heather roots and support their development.
SECRET 1As shown by the research results, the use of the vaccine mycorrhiza allows to maintain the proper pH of the soil within the heather roots. Thanks to this, it is not necessary to additionally acidify the soil in the heather bed.Mycorrhiza facilitates the absorption of nutrients from the soil by plants and makes them resistant to unfavorable growing conditions.
It is extremely important to choosemycorrhiza suitable for heather plants , i.e. ectendomycorrhizal vaccine. The vaccine must contain live mycelium, as only this is effective. It must always be a liquid mycelium (you can see live hyphae in the liquid), which you mix with a powdered hydrogel and add water. The result is a gel with live mycorrhiza mycelium. When planting heathers, their roots can be soaked in this gel or you can also apply the gel with mycorrhiza to the ground under the heathers already growing in the garden.
Heather roots soaked in a gel with mycorrhiza
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
I found out about the effectiveness of heather mycorrhiza by using it in my own gardenSince using mycorrhiza, I no longer acidify the soil under the heathers, yet they grow perfectly and bloom wonderfully every autumn . The best RHODIVIT® heather mycorrhizacan be ordered in the shop of our guide. We then have a guarantee that the package contains live mycorrhiza mycelium, which will positively affect all heather plants. In addition to heathers, rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries will also benefit from this mycorrhiza.
Common heather - cut
In the cultivation of heathers, do not forget to trim these shrubs. This treatment is performed in the spring.
SECRET 2Cutting heather is an important cultivation procedure, thanks to which the plants branch out, thicken and bloom more abundantly. We make them in early spring, trimming the shoots just below the blooming flowers.
Young heathers are best trimmed with a pruner. In the case of larger specimens growing in groups, we will improve the work by using cutting scissors.
Common heather - wintering
Young heathers, especially those growing in open and windy places, should be covered with conifer twigs or a jute net before the onset of winter. It should be done not earlier than in November.
Remember, however, thatcovering heathers for winterdo not use leaves, leafy twigs, straw or air-tight foil, because it is for those very harmful plants.
Heather - Calluna vulgaris
Fig. depositphotos.com
Heather - diseases
When deciding togrowing heathersremember that these plants do not do well in too humid places and do not like frequent watering. Excessive moisture and excessive density in the bedding contribute to the development of fungal diseases.
Heathers are most often affected by gray mold and phytophthora. Disease symptoms can usually be noticed at the beginning of summer (in July), when the development of fungal diseases of heathers is favored by high air humidity and temperature.In order to prevent this, the plants should be sprayed with fungicides prophylactically in June.
SECRET 3Fortunately, recently we don't have to resort to chemical plant protection products in heather cultivation. We have a natural preparation Polywersum WP, which effectively protects heathers against fungal diseases. Already at the stage of planting plants, it is worth soaking their roots in Polyversum WP solution, which prevents phytophthora from attacking the plants.
Compositions with heathers - inspiration
You can create colorful compositions from heathers in your garden , using varieties of heathers blooming in various shades of white, pink and purple. These plants, both in the garden bed and in pots, can be combined with other ornamental heather plants in the fall. Heathers also look nice when planted in groups with low ornamental grasses. Interestinginspirations for compositions with heathers in potsare presented in the video. I hope you will like some of the ideas and use them at home: -)
