Wrzosowate is a family of plants with over 4,000 species. In gardens, the most commonly plantedheather plantsare small shrubs - heathers and heaths, which look attractive when grown in large groups, as well as shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons. To avoid monotonous your moorland, get to know other, less popular but veryinteresting heather plantsthat can beautify your garden.
Heather plants - heather
At the end of summer, pots with heathers appear in gardening stores, starting their flowering right now.The discounts that we plant with these dwarf shrubs will please our eyes until the end of autumn, i.e. when most of the plants no longer look delightful.The popularity of heathers was probably determined not only by the charm of their flowers in the fall, but also relatively small soil and site requirements. Heathers do well in full sun and tolerate light, well-drained, dry soils. It is only important that the substrate is properly acidified. We can deal with the latter in a simple way (I will come back to it at the end of the text).
On the heather bed, the most popular heather can be accompanied by other interestingheather plants , which although have slightly higher cultivation requirements (more moist and fertile soils, slightly shaded position and the need to protect against winter frost), will be a perfect visual combination with heathers, creating picturesque landscapes in garden beds not only in autumn. The multitude of colors, varied flowering time, diverse growth and the presence of evergreen species in this group allow evenheather plantsto create a variety of bedding compositions.
The most popular heather shrubs, apart from the heather mentioned above, are of course beautifully flowering azaleas and azaleas. We have already mentioned heather, azaleas and rhododendrons in the guide in the texts, heath in the garden and rhododendron - cultivation, care, reproduction. Today, however, I want to devote more space to less popular heather plants, which can become equally (or even more) valuable decorations in our garden beds.
Heather plants - Japanese pieris
Heather plants - low shrubs
Other short shrubs from the group ofheather plants , such as larch, holly-bucentilla, or black crowberry will be a great company for heathers.
Common Larch (Andromeda polifolia)is a dense and compact evergreen shrub, perfect for heather beds and rockeries.Among the garden varieties it is worth having the common larch'Compacta' , with lanceolate leathery leaves, green with a blue-silvery coating and pink flowers, as well as the'Nikko' variety , with dark green leaves (silver blue on the underside) and light pink flowers. Both varieties bloom from May to June and do not exceed 25 cm in height. They grow well in a sunny position, but 'Compacta' will also tolerate light shade. They require moist and acidic soils. They react to the excess of calcium in the soil with chlorosis, and the lack of water causes the loss of leaves. It is worth collecting rainwater for watering. Both varieties mentioned here are fully frost-resistant, recommended by the Polish Nurserymen Association.
Equally frost-resistant and evergreen shrub isblack crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) 'Bernstein'It has needle-shaped, glossy leaves with curled edges, yellow-green in summer, and turning brown-yellow in winter . In June, inconspicuous pink-purple flowers appear in the leaf axils.Interestingly, the black fruits of this plant are edible, but bland in taste. Like most heather plants, black crowberry does well in organic, moist soils. However, it also tolerates sandy and drier soils. Thanks to this, it is considered a reliable plant on moors. The growing site can be sunny and slightly shaded.
Another interesting shrub on the heather bed will beBruckenthalia spiculifolia 'Balkan Rose'It is also an evergreen plant that creates lush clumps, up to 20 cm high and 0.5 meters wide. In June and July we will be delighted with its pink flowers that appear profusely on the tops of the shoots. The site can be both sunny and slightly shaded. The plant is relatively easy to grow and frost-hardy enough.
Heather plants - lingonberry
Heather plants covering
When selecting shrubs for a heather bed, one should not forget aboutcreeping goltery (Gaultheria procumbens) , which is an excellent turf plant.It is very low - it does not exceed 15 cm in height, but thanks to the underground runners, it grows very widely. Its dark green leaves are slightly shiny, and in winter they turn maroon. The flowers appear in the second half of summer, they are pink. Then we can admire the red fruits. The advantage of this plant is not only frost resistance, but also the possibility of cultivation both in the sun and in the shade.
The lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) 'Koralle' is equally attractive. It is a native evergreen shrub that grows thanks to underground runners. Reaches a height of up to 30 cm. Its green leaves are tiny, leathery and shiny. The flowers are also small, pink. Bright red fruit is a great decoration of the flowerbed. They are edible (considered to be very he althy, rich in vitamins), tart in taste, perfect for preserves. Fried with sugar, they give exquisite preserves served as a side dish for meats.So the cowberry will not only decorate a heather bed, but also provide us with valuable fruit.It is extremely frost-resistant and can grow both in the sun and in light partial shade ( although it produces less fruit in the shade). It works great as a turf plant under tall shrubs and large-flowered azaleas.
Little known heather shrubs
The most famous heather shrubs are azaleas and rhododendrons. Many gardeners also have squid and Japanese pieris in their collections. However, there are much more rare, but interesting, bunches.
The laurel (Leucothoe fontanesiana)is a dense, evergreen shrub, reaching up to 1 m in height. In nurseries it is worth looking for the garden variety 'Rainbow' with decorative, lanceolate green leaves, covered with pink spots and white spots, and white flowers gathered in dangling clusters. It is a great shrub for naturalistic plantings.
Finally, it is worth mentioningBell-shaped encyclopedia (Enkianthus campanulatus) It is an erect shrub that grows up to just over 2 m in height, losing its leaves for the winter. In May and June we can admire its tiny yellow-salmon flowers. It is known for abundant flowering and beautiful, fiery red discoloration in autumn.
Heather plants - bell-shaped enkianthus
Heather plants - requirements, cultivation, care
Although someheather plantsare more tolerant to sunlight and drier, light soils, we will provide the best conditions for all of the above-mentioned plants in slightly shaded and moist, acidic soils , humus and rich in organic matter. Before planting the plants, the soil is enriched with acid peat. After planting the plants, mulch the soil surface with conifer bark. Pine bark not only looks nice. It also prevents weeds from growing between shrubs, helps to maintain the acidity of the soil and reduces water evaporation from the soil surface, which is of great importance for heather shrubs with a shallow root system (and therefore unable to draw water from the deeper layers of the soil).We should also remember that manyheather shrubsare sensitive to frosts in the winter. Therefore, for moorlands, choose quiet, sheltered positions and remember to cover the most sensitive species.
Many people give upgrowing heather plantsbecause the soil in the garden is too alkaline. In such a situation, if we decide on a heath, we are forced to acidify the soil annually by adding acid peat and using appropriate fertilizers to acidify the soil.
As it turns out - it does not have to be this way! Thanks to the use oflive mycorrhizal mycelium , more and more commercially available thanks to Mykoflor (the most valuable live mycorrhizal mycelium for heather plants in gel form) in the root masses of plants, thanks to the phenomenon of mycorrhiza, beneficial acidic, regardless of the acidity of the soil in the area. As a result, heather plants are he althier, grow more abundantly and bloom more beautifully, and we can give up the onerous acidification of the soil.We have already discussed the phenomenon of mycorrhiza and its importance for heather plants earlier in the tip of heather mycorrhiza, the secret of beautiful rhododendrons, azaleas and heathers. At this point, therefore, I only remind you of this text.I hope that thanks to the less popular shrubs and shrubs presented here, you will manage to create unusual moors, beautiful all year round, which will never get bored: -)
Based on: P. Banaszczak, Rhododendron Krewniacy, Działkowiec, No. 9/2009, pp. 28-30; Catalog of plants - perennial trees, shrubs recommended by the Polish Nurserymen Association, Agenscja Promocji Zieleni Sp. z o.o., Warsaw 2006, pp. 112 - 132; Great Illustrated Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, collective work, Reader's Digest, Warsaw 2004.
