Spreading out to form wonderful carpets of color at the heart of winter, Erica carnea can beat bad weather to the point of sprouting through a blanket of snow. A choreography of white, pink and purple bells swells up from beneath the monotonous white winter mantle. Is this not proof that this small, hardy shrub can take the worst and still, against all odds, thrive?
This plant, a type of heath plant, is native to the higher alpine regions, and can grow in the poorest of soils. Extreme cold and withering heat won’t hurt it in the least. Its slow but regular growth means it’s perfect for use in pots and containers and to decorate garden boxes. Choose the varieties wisely, and you’ll have uninterrupted blooming from late autumn to late spring.
Erica carnea is one of the most beautiful hardy heathers. With a size that stays within the 6 to 12-inch range (15 to 30 cm), it grows in the wild in the Alps where its pale red blooms coat the fields from midwinter to mid-spring.
The only kind of maintenance expected from you is to cut leafy stems back by half after the blooming: this triggers branching out, keeping the plant dense and tight. Not trimming would lead the plant to degenerate and grow sparse and scrawny. Just like lavender, though, a word of caution: don’t cut back too far because heather has trouble creating new shoots from old wood. Always stay within the leafy portion of stems when you cut it back.
Winter heather earns its keep in very different places, from a broad sweep of ground cover to a single balcony box. This table gathers the uses described below, with the partners and the one condition each situation calls for.
| Situation | Effect it gives | Good companions | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large planted area in the ground | A sheet of winter colour that carries across the garden | Rudbeckia, Aster, ornamental grasses | Plant in quantity — one plant alone goes unnoticed |
| Between shrubs | Dense ground cover weaving along the soil | Small conifers, taller perennials | Room to spread under the shrubs |
| Along edges | A low, tight line along a walkway | Shrub bed planting behind | Guiding the stems as they creep |
| Rock and gravel settings | Stocky heather-and-rock composition with a little airiness | Ornamental rocks, wispy grasses | Very little upkeep once in place |
| Pots and containers | Slow, regular growth that stays in scale | Grown on its own or with grasses | Regular water whenever the soil dries, and excellent drainage |
| Balcony garden boxes | Winter interest at eye level | Silver ragwort, cyclamen, Gaultheria, Skimmia | Repotting in spring, once flowering is over |
Whichever situation you pick, the same rule decides the outcome: soil that never stays waterlogged.
Cultivars of Erica carnea differ mainly in flower colour, in the colour their tiny leaves take on, and in how early they open — combine two or three and the display runs from late autumn well into spring. The table below gathers the ones most often found on garden centre benches.
| Variety | Flower colour | Foliage | Flowering period | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Springwood White’ | Pure white | Bright mid-green | Midwinter to spring | Vigorous ground cover, banks |
| ‘Springwood Pink’ | Clear rose-pink | Mid-green | Midwinter to spring | Spreading carpets, edges |
| ‘Myretoun Ruby’ | Deep ruby red | Dark green | Late winter to spring | Beds and containers |
| ‘Ann Sparkes’ | Rose-pink, deepening | Golden, bronze-tipped | Late winter to spring | Pots; give light shade |
| ‘Rosalie’ | Bright rose-pink | Bronze-tinted green | Midwinter to spring | Compact, front of bed |
| ‘Pink Spangles’ | Two-toned pink | Mid-green | Early to midwinter | Vigorous, large areas |
| ‘Winter Beauty’ | Deep pink | Dark green | Early winter onwards | Balcony boxes and pots |
| ‘Golden Starlet’ | White | Bright yellow-green | Midwinter to spring | Foliage contrast, containers |
| ‘early winter Red’ | Rosy red | Dark green | Early winter onwards | Starting the winter display |
| ‘Vivellii’ | Carmine magenta | Bronze-purple in cold | Midwinter to spring | Colour contrast with white forms |
| ‘Challenger’ | Magenta-red | Dark green | Midwinter to spring | Massed planting |
| ‘Foxhollow’ | Pale pink, sparse | Yellow, red-tinted in cold | Late winter | Grown mainly for foliage |
| ‘Adrienne Duncan’ | Deep pink | Bronze-green | Midwinter to spring | Low, neat ground cover |
| ‘Isabell’ | Pure white | Fresh green | Late winter to spring | Lightening darker planting |
In a garden, it helps when Erica carnea is planted in large numbers: a single one won’t be noticed, but a large planted area will look stunning. It’s also possible to set it up between shrubs, so it can weave its way along the ground in a shrub bed that’s planted with small conifers, covering the soil up in a lush, dense blanket, and you can even guide it along edges, lining a walkway for instance.
These heather species are excellent companions for taller perennials such as Rudbeckia, Aster and grasses since it helps showcase them against a uniform, dense backdrop.
In garden boxes, Erica carnea is the best friend of silver ragwort, cyclamen, berry shrubs (Gaultheria, Skimmia).
Experiment original landscaping pairings, for instance with ornamental cabbage that boast pink, blue or silver leaves, and even black ones in the case of the edible ‘Nero di Toscana’ kale variety.
The only weakness this particular winter heather plant has is that whenever it’s not blooming, you feel nothing is happening. This is due to how slow growth is, and to how small the leaves are. However, if you pay careful attention to it, you’ll notice that the hue of its leaves does change when temperatures rise and fall.
Read also: Erica heather, the fall and winter heather
Heather plants tend to have a repellent effect on weeds since their roots exude substances that are toxic to young roots. They survive in extremely poor soil thanks to a special fungus that permeates the entire plant. It even hitches a ride along inside the seed to make sure it follows the plant everywhere.
