About 12 species of small shrubs from the tundras or high alpine regions throughout the northern hemisphere. They are evergreen and wiry-stemmed, forming low mats or heather-like clumps. The slender, wiry stems are clothed in tightly appressed, scale-like leaves. They bear bell, cup or goblet-shaped flowers pendent from slender pedicels arising in the axils of the leaves towards the tips of shoots.
Most species are at home on the rock garden or may be grown effectively in pans, provided they are placed in a cool position where they receive good light, but not hot sunshine. The soil must be acid and humus-rich, but good drainage is extremely important, so the addition of grit is beneficial. After a few years it is natural for leaves on the lower parts of stems to die, leaving them brown and unsightly. This can be remedied by mulching with humus enriched with a little general fertilizer to encourage fresh shoots from the base. A really leggy specimen can be hard pruned before receiving this treatment. Plants mulched in this way will usually produce roots from the bases of stems and can be divided as a means of increase if required. Propagate by cuttings of shoot tips in late summer or autumn in a cold, shaded frame. Cassiope wardii, and to a lesser extent C. fastigiata are reluctant to root as cuttings but they do produce stolons which arise from the soil adjacent to the main plant. These can be carefully removed, usually with a few hair-like roots, and, treated in the same way as cuttings, will establish within a few months. Seed can also be sown, ideally collected from plants in the wild. It must be sown on the surface of an acid humusy compost and thoroughly soaked. Germination may start within a month but is often much longer and will occasionally be delayed until a layer of moss has formed on the surface of the peat. The moss is not detrimental and can be left until pricking out is done the following spring when the seedlings are a year old.
a, C. fastigiata; b, C. lycopodioides;