Choosing Heathers

When buying, avoid lank and straggly plants and select bushy specimens with fresh looking foliage which have been carefully reared and trimmed in early life.

The table below gives the flowering periods and preferred soil conditions of all the European species generally found in gardens. As some heather species require acid soil (pH lower than 6.5) the pH of your soil should be tested, if not already known. For accuracy, slowly dry out the soil sample before using a pH test kit. See also "Planting Tips" and "Garden Design".

For more details on the various species, click on the links in the tables below. For cultivar descriptions, see the Handy Guide to Heathers.

Acid-loving heaths and heathers

Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul
		Andromeda		Calluna vulgaris
Erica arborea			E. spiculifolia
	E. australis		Erica ciliaris
			Erica cinerea
			Erica mackayana
			Erica x stuartii
			Erica tetralix
			Erica x watsonii

Partially lime-tolerant heaths and heathers

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				Daboecia cantabrica
				Daboecia x scotica
				Erica scoparia		Erica vagans
						Erica x williamsii

Lime-tolerant heaths and heathers

Jul	Aug	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar
		Erica carnea
		Erica x darleyensis
			Erica erigena
					Erica x veitchii
	Erica manipuliflora			Erica lusitanica
	Erica x griffithsii
Erica terminalis						Erica umbellata