Winter is usually gray and unkind here. But there are a number of plants that can surprise you with flowers even during the colder part of the year. Among them are also heathers, which do not mind sleet or snow and bloom cheerfully until spring.
The heathers will delight you all winter long
It belongs to the typical winter plants, which are suitable not only for autumn arrangements, but also for winter boxes on the windowsill. It is decent and flowers beautifully, and although it is not a heather, it resembles it in every way. Even the name. The heather is a beautiful plant that will delight you at a time when other greenery is laid to rest.
The heather blooms from December to April, so definitely do not cut it in autumn. This video from the “beautiful garden” YouTube channel will also briefly introduce the plant to you, where you can clearly see how the cut of the plant looks like. Attention! Never cut more than half the growth.
Source: Youtube
How to grow heather
However, there is still plenty of time to cut the heather, first it has to flower, and that awaits it in the following months. And the plant will please you not only with that. Its flowers are white, pink, purple to almost purple, but also red. On delicate, needle-covered twigs, this relatively low plant blooms profusely, and thus really decorates the whole winter, even under snow.
It usually grows to a height of 30 cm, but older plants are reported to reach half a meter in height. It is a plant demanding watering. Even though watering may not be intensive in autumn and winter, you must not forget the heather. Drying is the main cause of heather death in the winter months. Frost does not bother him at all and he can handle temperatures below -20 °C very well. However, frost resistance may vary slightly between different varieties.
Although heathers and sedges are known to require more acidic soil, which is typical of woodland, some species may have originated in the Alps from places where calcareous or alkaline soil predominates. If you decide to buy some beautiful unusual piece, definitely look in the atlas or on the Internet to see if you are richer for more or less rare species that require alkaline soils.
What to watch out for in winter with heathers?
Since the plants require watering even during the winter months, be sure to keep an eye on the plants. If they are in a flowerpot or other container, you need to water them gently but regularly. If they are in the ground, plants usually do better and can manage moisture if they are well rooted. However, irrigation should still be considered during longer periods of drought.
Although it seems that their time is mainly in winter, heathers require a sunny location or possibly partial shade, however, they will bloom significantly less here. It can be different for more susceptible plants that have pale yellow leaves. In general, these are plants that do not handle the heat well and are better suited to partial shade.
Sources: zahradkarskaporadna.cz, garten.cz
