Heathers were once the national plant of upland Britain, they were a part of our psyche and appeared everywhere, not in the least on the front of almost every car that visited the moors - a sprig of heather was every motorist’s lucky mascot!
These days they are not so well loved. Of course, the reason for their widespread colonization of moorland was to feed and shelter grouse. Every summer, great swathes of moorland were burned, so heather shoots would provide food for growing birds, the older heather providing shelter from the elements and birds of prey.
Maybe these days the association with the gentry is not so favourable, and the poor heather is not so revered but no garden of British flowers can be without heathers, they are hardy, colourful and full of interest, fun to grow and there are many varieties to choose from.
Why heather?
Apart from the flower colour, heathers have wonderful, flat leaves which change colour throughout the year. They deepen and intensify as the year goes on and sometimes russets and browns take over. Their habit is like any plant used to growing in harsh conditions, squat but defiant and almost dome-shaped.
It is the myriad flower colour that makes the plant such a display. The ‘purple headed mountain’ is down to heathers and this brash display can explode in our gardens too.
Peat
Heathers grow well in peat. Indeed their slowly decaying stems make a good portion of peat. Peat and water make a very acidic solution, which is ideal for these plants. If you want to grow them, you need to replicate this and use special compost – ericaceous compost. You can get it without peat these days, so we don’t wreck whatever is left of this special habitat for the sake of our gardens.
Planting
I like to give my heathers a good amount of drainage - adding grit to the compost, and since my soil is not acidic, I have to add ericaceous compost. However, I do it in such a way as to isolate the compost from the rest of the soil, so it isn’t ‘diluted’ by the ingress of water from the rest of the garden. This means growing in containers, sometimes burying the containers so you cannot see them.
Heathers make great path liners, or rockery plants, and will cling on to life in very little compost. I give them a feed in the spring but apart from a little water they need little care, save pruning. Remove older stems to bring out new ones, so your heather doesn’t become thin and woody. This way the plant is constantly renewed.
Take cuttings
These take easily, simply take one of your prunings and remove the lower (last year’s) leaves then place the shoot into some ericaceous compost. Of ten cuttings, expect five or six to take, and you have new plants for next year!
How much?
They do not grow well from seed for most gardeners, so you have to buy plants, which can be a little expensive. You can buy sets of three plants on the internet for about £7.00 but the newer, larger varieties can cost double or triple this.
That said, after about a year growing, you can take cuttings and grow your own stock, so an initial investment can pay off in the long run.
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