HEATHS & HEATHERS
These tough, colorful plants will give your garden interest and variety through summer heat or in the short dark days of winter. They’re wonderful for rock gardens, border plantings or as ground covers.
How to Choose
Our heaths and heathers are labeled with their flower color, height and bloom time. Shades of bright white, soft to hot pink, ruby red and pale to almost-black purple combine beautifully with many other plants. Foliage color ranges from green, gray-green, to accented with gold and bronze. Some varieties change foliage color dramatically as winter approaches and make valuable additions to the winter garden or containers. Most are low, compact, and cushioning/groundcovering in their growth habit.
Where and How to Plant
Heaths and heathers prefer full sun to lightly shaded conditions, and well drained soil. Dig a hole twice as wide and only as deep as the container. Add a small amount of compost and transplanting fertilizer. Loosen the rootball gently by hand. Set in the ground only as deep as it sat in the container; the stems must not be buried. Fill in and water well to remove large air pockets. Mulch lightly with compost leaving the stem bare. Plant 12-30" apart depending on variety; it will take 2-3 years to fill in.
Plant Care
Heaths and heathers must be kept well watered until established; drying out is the most common reason for plant loss. Water deeply at least once or twice a week during the hot weather and as needed during cooler weather. After the plants are established for a couple years, they can be watered less often. A light application of Whitney Farms Rhododendron Food in early spring will help plant growth and bloom; follow package directions. Take care not to get fertilizer on the foliage and keep it at least 2" from the plant stem. Water in thoroughly.
Pruning
Pruning helps keep plants compact, well shaped and improves flowering. Prune summer blooming varieties when flowers fade (until September) or in early March before new growth begins. Winter and spring blooming plants should be pruned immediately after flowering.
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