South African Heathers For Late Summer—

Press, Volume C, Issue 29459, 10 March 1961, Page 15

South African Heathers For Late Summer—

A few weeks ago I discussed the summer flowering hardy heathers, which are so useful for ground cover and for labour saving in the garden. The South African heathers are not as hardy as those from European regions, but nevertheless they are much hardier than they are generally given credit for, and some varieties can be grown on the flat without trouble. Gardeners in warmer districts or on the hills can grow quite an extensive range of these attractive plants. Like all other plants we grow, they vary in their flowering season according to the species actually being grown. There are spring, summer, autumn and winter flowering sorts amongst them —and some which have very long seasons and fit no seasonal sub-division. Among those in flower at this time of the year are some good sorts which can be recommended as good plants for the garden, although there are one or two points to note. First, like most of the heathers, they demand an acid soil without a trace of lime in it. Even the lime-impregnated soil around the base of walls built with cement or mortar is slow death unless it is changed before planting. The second point is that most have a reasonably short life. Six or perhaps seven years is all that can be reasonably expected of them, and even this is less if old plants >re planted to start off with. The best plants are those which are pot grown and fairly

small. Larger plants raised in the open ground do not transplant so well, particularly if they are North Island raised, as so many are. Just the same. South African heathers are good plants for brilliancy of colour and the general attractiveness of their flower shape and form. Sorts which flower in the late summer —often a difficult time in which to find flowering shrubs —include the fol- ■ lowing:— Erica mammosa coccinea—which has brilliant red flowers. This sort grows to three or four feet tall, and! the flowers are produced on the last two or three inches I of growth made during the’ year. Individual flowers are about }-inch long, and irj mass they make a brilliant effect. E. parkeri, the plant illustrated, has a very long flowering season. There is hardly a month of the year when the polished pink bells are not found, although its main flowering is now. Like most of the heathers it should be cut back after flowering, and this helps to prolong its display, for a fresh batch of flowers will be produced as soon as the new growth is three or four inches long. Cutting back should not be too hard, and plants should not be too hard, and should never be cut back to two or three-year-old bare wood. If possible, cut back to a ring of • shoots lower down the steam. This will keep the growth compact and avoid legginess. E. cerinthoides is perhaps the most tender of those I am listing, but I have grown this on the flat for several years with no especial protection. The blooms are quite furry and deep scarlet-red in colour, so that "once seen, never forgotten.” Unlike the other sorts, this one does not grow tall, and it rarely branches. E. rubens and E. autumnalls are very similar to each other, except in their season of bloom. E. rubens finished flowering a week or two ago, but autumnalis is just showing colour in the flower buds. Their general appearance is close, with grassy-green small leaves, a finely branched habit, and myriads of small deep pink flowers. They grow about four feet tall. E. linnaeoides has attractive rose-pink bells, less tubular than the first three types. It is a delightful plant, though, for its freedom of flower as well as the pleasantly coloured bells, and will grow to four or five feet tall in situations it likes. In spite of their reputation for tenderness, those sorts listed are reasonably reliable so long as they don’t face the morning sun. Any frost on them should thaw gradually. not by sudden exposure to the sun, which is liable to cause damage. If you get more than 15 degrees of frost each winter; though, they should not be attempted. Leave them to someone more kindly situated.