Good heavens, what is that? —a heather

Press, 3 April 1980, Page 13

Good heavens, what is that? —a heather

GARDENER’S DIARY

By

Derrick Rooney.

Three heathers for the rock garden, newly arived from Southland, are of interest this week;

None of them is exactly .spanking new, but all are jscarce in’ this: country, and for that reason they are '.doubly welcome. Two are much reduced forms of the true Scottish heather, Galluna vulgaris, which is possibly the most widespread shrub in Western Europe, having a natural range from almost in the Arctic Circle to the sunbaked hills of southern France. Hundreds of selected varieties exist, but most of them are top large for all but the very biggest rock gardens. One of my newcomers, "Andrew Proudley” is a real mini — tiny and huddled, with minute leaves that are bright yellow in summer and tawny or orange in winter. Unlike many other heathers with coloured leaves rit is free flowering, and even the flower spikes are miniature. They are stubby and crammed with tiny purplish-pink bells. I have not yet decided whether to risk. "Andrew Proudley” outside on the rock garden dr to keep it in a pot on the terrace, but I may plump for the latter, so that it can he moved nut of the burning sun in midsummer, when Canterbury light is notoriously tough on plants with coloured leaves.

“Andrew Proudley” is one of the newer heathers, having been introduced in the 1960 s by two leading contemporary . British heather; growers, Brian and Valerie Proudley. Like most high-class heathers it occurred, by chance, having come up as a seedling in a pot containing another Proudley m i n i-heather, “Lyndon Proudley,” which is very similar but has green foliage. Both are named

after members .of the Proudley family. ’ The provenance of my other new heather, “Humpty Dumpty,” is not so easy to trace, but I believe it is quite an old variety that for some reason has not found favour here. It is one of a small group of mossy-leaved and shy-flowering heathers that are planted for foliage effect — the others, all better known, are

“Minima," “Foxii Nana,” and “Velvet Dome.”

“Humpty Dumpty” is quite distinctive among these, for whereas the others all have more or less regular growth and develop dome shapes, it has uneven, tufted growth. After a year or two ■ the biish i 3 full of interesting humps and hollows. The growth, is very slow, very dense and congested —• a consummation devoutly to be wished on the rock garden, where this shrub is unlikely to swamp any delicate neighbours. Many years growth must pass before its dk ameter exceeds a hand span.

My third heather is in fact an Irish heath, and ■the only member of the quartet that I will plant for flowers. This is Daboecia cantabrica “Bicolor, ’’ which is new to me but has been in cultivation for more than a century. The daboecias (pronounce it dab-ee-seea) are a little more difficult to grow than the callunas, because they are sensitive to drought in summer and in winter are often check-

ed by frost, but they are not too difficult. The only European species is Daboecia cantabrica, which has an oddly disjointed distribution as a Wild plant, being found only in the south of Ireland and part of northern Spain. The typical wild form has purplish flowers, but pink and white forms have been found, and in England nursery catalogues list about 20 varieties. .. ...

'ln New Zealand only three are readily; obtainable —: “Alba,” with white flowers, • “Atropurpurea,” with deep purple Ones, and “Praegerae,” silvery pink. “Bicolor”, has flowers in all these shades, and a few that are striped or blotched in white or purple, too. It is of unknown origin.

If/it survives our summers it will become one of my . select group of “Good heavens” plants — not very showy, perhaps, ’ but definitely a collector’s , item and guaranteeed to extract an incredulous “Good heavens, what is that?” from visitors.