About
Calluna vulgaris is a hardy evergreen shrub featuring slender, linear leaves and clusters of urn-shaped flowers that range in color from pink to pale purple. These blooms can be single or double and typically appear from mid-summer through autumn. The mature height of this plant generally reaches about 60 cm. Numerous cultivars have been developed through selection and breeding.
About the genus
Calluna consists of compact, evergreen shrubs that feature stems covered in small, overlapping leaves. At their tips, these plants bear spike-like clusters of diminutive, four-petaled flowers, each adorned with colored calyces.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained, Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Exposed, Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H7
Plant details
- Plant type
- Shrubs
- Habit
- Bushy
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Height
- 0.5-1 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 2-5 years
- Suggested uses
- Wildlife gardens, City and courtyard gardens, Coastal, Cottage and informal garden, Rock garden
- Native to
- N America, N Eurasia
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow in well-drained acidic soil in full sun
- Pruning
- Pruning group 10. Shear off old flowering stems after flowering
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed in spring, or propagate by softwood cuttings, division or layering in summer
- Pest resistance
- Generally pest-free
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely) and other fungal diseases