Nice hand, lovely nails and a healthy Erica! The flowers are just about done blooming so this is normal. I have a couple of these...love them and they are very hardy in my zone 5.

With regard to your question, I usually just run my hands through the shrub and loosen all the dried flowers.

A good time to lightly shear the heaths is right after they are finished blooming. That keeps them compact instead of getting open in the middle with age.

Mike