I learned enough to know that the soil I had when I was interested in these plants was the wrong thing completely! I called a company that specialized in them and they basically said the plants thrive on Cape Cod - acid sand. Salt appeared not to be a concern. I would have thought, given that they are common in Britain, that peat would do, too and that ice would be more problematic than snow.

The Cape is probably about a zone 5b or 6.

I'll see if I can find the name of that company.

The nursery on the Cape that specializes in Heaths and Heathers is Rock Spray Nursery in Truro. I went there a number of years ago and bought a few heaths and heathers. Planted them on a slope that wasn't sandy but acidic and had good drainage. A couple bit the dust, but I still have Heather called 'Firefly' and a Heath whose name escapes me at the moment. It's recommended to protect with evergreen boughs the first winter or two, but after that should be ok. Winter wind can be tough on the plants as I found out. I posted the link to the nursery that has some info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rock Spray Nursery-heathers-Cape Cod

True heathers (Calluna vulgaris ctvs.) are the hardiest of the clan, typically zones 4&5, but often as low as zone 3 with snow cover and/or winter protection. Heaths (Erica species) are generally less cold tolerant.

Watering is pretty critical to the establishment of either - they simply won't tolerate being allowed to dry out during this period. If your soil is very sandy, I'd recommend adding some organic matter to increase moisture retention.

GardenGal..I was poking through my seed stash and found some Calluna vulgaris, Scotch Heather, from Parks Seed, probably 2004.

Anything special about growing heather from seed? I was going to winter sow it in 1-gallon jug sized clumps. I have about 60 seeds, and thought I'd make 8" diameter clumps with about 15 seeds each.

I've never grown heather before, so I'm experimenting with this. I certainly have the right soil, acid and sandy.

I've already contacted Rock Spray Nursery to get their 2007 catalog.
gardengal- I thought it was the other way around; Erica being hardier than Calluna.

Can I assume that if it is hardy to zone 4, then I can grow without winter cover?

It is the other way around. Erica is hardier than Calluna. Start out with the heaths. mine starts blooming here in late Feb. Heathers bloom during the summer. I've had 1 Heath on the top of my rock garden for over 12 years, it has spread to 3 foot wide. The heathers don't like high temps & dry weather. I put a layer of evergreen branches over mine in the winter. Sounds like you have good soil conditions for them. Good Luck. Vicki

Vicki--I'm curious about you and your heathers and heaths since you're possibly closer than most to the Midwest/Great Lakes conditions that I have. I have sandy Lake Michigan soil, but it's not acidic. What have you got? It sounds like you're doing well with your conditions.

I've been collecting heaths and heathers for years - many of the heaths are in full bloom now and will continue through until mid-spring.

Rock Spray is a lovely place and has terrific stock and a great selection. It's also very expensive! I can often pick up small heaths at local nurseries and even at our County Extension Service plant sale in spring. I have *much* better luck with small plants, and suggest that you not bother paying for large ones.

These plants "should be easy" from seed, as they are known to self-sow when there are lots of them and they're not dead-headed. There is (or was) another heather nursery here on Cape Cod, in Waquoit, and the woods around the nursery were full of wild heaths and heathers. That nursery may be closed now, it was a family-run business that had been here for many years - I mention this just so you don't assume heaths are invasive. Surprisingly, the plants bloomed quite well in the woods - maybe because our woods are not like your forests, not really deep shade.

Heaths and heathers are a little wild looking and are especially good in naturalistic settings as opposed to formal borders. I shape mine a little, but really like the sprawling look they acquire on their own. I stongly prefer the heaths for the simple reason that winter blooms are so wonderful here where we have a lot of damp, grey days in winter.

diggingthedirt..thanks for that information. Can you provide more? I'm very interested in Heaths and Heathers, as I am growing in a maritime location. I remember visiting an arboretum called Arnoldia (part of Harvard) on the cape a long time ago, and they had a gorgeous collection.

I'm assuming they are salt tolerant. I live with salt fog, salt spray, and occasional immersion with salt water.

The self-sown plants near the nursery you spoke of..were they true to the parent plants?

Can you give us some varieties to look for, either as plants or seeds? I'm in zone 7A, but my last two winters have bottomed out at +12F.

Thanks for that tip about the Arnold, donn; I'm familiar with their newsletter, Arnoldia, but had not heard about them having any property on the Cape. I googled Arnoldia and heather, and found the info on their cape cod plantings in the issue linked below. Not sure if the actual garden is still in existence, but I'll check the AA web site.

I'm a half mile from the beach, so I don't have to deal with salt. And, I have not been very good about keeping track of performance of different varieties, either. If I were starting out, though, I'd definitely include Mrs. Pat (a calluna) and Springwood White (a heath); both happen to be mentioned in the document below, and there are many more that are briefly described. Rock Spray is also quite near the shore, and they should be able to tell you which ones do well in salty areas.

I just picked up this photo on the Rock Spray site:
{{gwi:284226}}

A coastal wild heather garden in Freeport Maine...

Nice, isn't it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Arnoldia

Sorry to disagree but callunas are hardier than ericas. Callunas consist of a single species native to areas concentrated around a specific latitude (approximately 40-52North) coinciding with northern and western Europe, the Urals, Siberia and Turkey. The ericas consist of some 700 species and while a few are native to Europe, the vast majority are from the Mediterranean area, Africa and central and western Asia. Hardiness zones of callunas are typically listed as 4-5 (3 with protection) and up, while ericas are most often zone 7 and up (the alpine Erica carnea being the exception - hardy to zone 5, lower with protection).

The attached link comes from Heaths and Heathers Nursery here in Washington state - one of largest heather growers in the country.

Here is a link that might be useful: heathers for cold climates

gardengal..do you know of any sources for liners or plugs of Heaths and Heathers?

Erica carnea is the one most widely sold around here. Calluna maybe be hardier(which i don't think it is) but the heaths do better here than the Heathers. But you live in a clime gardengal where you can grow most anything. I'm speaking from experience here in zone 5a. The heathers don't do well. Amending the soil with peat helps if you have a sandy spot. It helps to retain moisture which is important during the summer months. Personally i would not try Heathers in zone 4, if you would have a snowless cold winter they would probably bite the dust. Unless you protect them very well. That's my 2 cents for what it's worth. Vicki

Donn, none of the nurseries in my area (and that includes 3 of the largest wholesalers in the country) sell liners or plugs of heaths/heathers. My assumption is that the fiberous root system is a bit too prone to drying out in such a small size and that could very well prove fatal. But I would direct you to either Heaths and Heathers (http://www.heathsandheathers.com/hhweb_001.htm)
or Highland Heathers (canby.com/hheather)
for a great selection of 3.5" containers as well as Rock Spray Nursery (much closer so likely quite a bit less expensive for shipping).

Vicki, not all of the PNW is a zone 8......a quick trip across the pass (about an hour's drive) and one is firmly in a zone 4 or 5 so I am also familiar with growing these plants in colder climates. The attached link may be of interest to those fond of heathers - a lot of interesting historical and anecdotal info about these plants coming pretty much from the horses mouth :-) One point that might be of interest are Callunas' ability to withstand some ferociously cold temperatures, if -18F is anything to judge by.

Here is a link that might be useful: More than you probably ever wanted to know......

Thanks gardengal..I just got off the phone with Rock Spray, and ordered a collection of 12, 4" pots for delivery in May. I'm getting 1 each of 12 varieties, Heaths and Heathers, mixed heights, colors and bloom time. The have a 15% discount running until Christmas Eve, so that'll almost cover the freight. I think this will be a good way to get a quick education on them. I also think they'll look great with shorter ornamental grasses.

Very informative fellow, the owner, David Herrick. He advised me that they tolerate salt spray and salt fog just fine, but won't tolerate saltwater immersion.

Gardengal just looked up when i planted my 4 plants, 3 were heathers and 1 was a heath. My plant is 15 years old, the heathers bit the dust after 3 years. The heath was the only survivor. Jan. '94 we hit -23F the heath made it through that winter the heathers didn't. They were all planted within 2 feet of each other in my rock garden. Also my plants came from rock spray, i planted the hardiest (or so they said) heath & heathers that they recommended. Vicki

Vicki..Rock Spray lists Heather (Calluna vulgaris)as slightly more hardy than Heath(Erica whatever). They call C. vulgaris hardy to zone 3 with protection, and all the hardy Erica varieties as hardy to zone 4, with or without protection. Heaths and Heathers does the same.

Your experience in NE Ohio, while important, is anecdotal. I gardened for 30 years in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, and I know how variable the weather there can be. In cold winters, snow cover made all the difference in the world. Some years we had it, and other years we didn't, and the perennials croaked. I lost plants rated as low as Z3, while others rated higher survived.

The bottom line is, it's impossible to predict how certain plants will survive certain weather conditions. Horticultural experts say Heather is more hardy, in general than Heath. That's just the way it is. That your Heath survived a winter that croaked your Heather, doesn't change that.