Planting and caring for heather in open ground

Flowers

Heather is among the most beautiful autumn flowers, creating magnificent "carpets" in its natural habitat. In photos, heather looks very decorative. However, planting and caring for it outdoors can often be intimidating for beginners.

Caring for heather in the garden

Heather's maintenance requirements, while specific, are not overly complex. To thrive, it requires a sunny, wind-protected location, but away from trees to prevent them from shedding their leaves.

Although shade-tolerant varieties are becoming increasingly common, this doesn't apply to heathers with golden or orange leaves. They require constant access to sunlight to develop their foliage color correctly, and in shade, the foliage fades to a light green.

Planting and caring for seasonal heather in open ground requires careful site selection in the initial stages. This is because transplanting the plant is virtually impossible. The substrate should be acidic (3.5 to 5), not too wet, and rich in humus—heavy and excessively wet soils encourage the development of fungal diseases in heather.

This is interesting!

In gardens, carefully chosen "companions" can be planted next to each other. They will thrive and look beautiful alongside other flowers, such as crocuses and other early spring-blooming bulbs, ornamental grasses, azaleas, and rhododendrons.

How to water heather? Be careful. Heathers prefer moist soil, not waterlogged soil. Hot, dry summers can be a source of problems for garden heathers, requiring more frequent watering and larger amounts.

Watering heather is also important in the fall, when the plants are storing moisture for the winter. Avoid watering the bushes with hard water, as this changes the soil's pH to alkaline.

How to plant heather in the garden?

Although heather seeds are commercially available, they are intended for professional gardeners. It's best to sow freshly ripened seeds—they will appear no later than two months after flowering.

Seedlings approximately 2 cm long should be potted and left indoors for the first winter. Plants should not be repotted until the following spring. Pre-cut cuttings are much more convenient and easier to care for.

What kind of soil is best for heather? These plants prefer light and a low pH. Acidified peat mixed with garden soil is best.

Preparing this mixture is important because peat itself is a loose substrate and therefore prone to drying out, while heathers, as we know, prefer slightly moist soil. The soil should consist of 3 parts peat and 1 part garden soil.

To plant a bush, remove the top layer of soil from the selected area to a depth of half a shovel and dig a small hole. Add peat moss and potting mix to the bottom of the hole and plant the seedlings. In heavier soils, use gravel as a drainage layer at the bottom of the hole.

When planting heather in the open ground in the Moscow region and caring for it, the key requirement is acidic soil. The plant is not affected by the typical temperate climate of Russia.

Planting and caring for common heather in open ground is no different from other hybrids. Heathers are recommended for planting on hillsides, where they form picturesque flower beds. If you plan to cultivate heather in this manner, remember to plant heather cuttings approximately 30 cm apart.

Heather Erica and other varieties thrive when planted in acidic soil. Outdoor care will be seamless in this case. After planting, mulch the soil by sprinkling bark or needles between the roots. This will prevent weeds and excessive soil drying out, and will also help maintain the proper pH level.

When to plant heather in the ground

The best time to plant heather is at the turn of summer (mid-September or October), but you can also plant it in the spring (March or April). Perennial heather varieties are relatively easy to plant and care for outdoors.

Top dressing

Heathers have low soil requirements, so they don't require extensive fertilization. There are many heather-friendly fertilizers available on the market that can be used to provide a gentle boost.

A convenient solution is to use slow-release granular fertilizers. It's also worth considering soil acidifiers, such as urea or magnesium sulfate. Heathers can also be supplied with nutrients with increased potassium content, which will promote healthy flowering.

A very important element of heather nutrition is the introduction of so-called mycorrhiza. This natural process involves a symbiosis between plant roots and seeds and fungi. As a result of this "collaboration" with these beneficial organisms, heather plants receive a better water supply and thus become more drought-resistant.

Nutrients, including those difficult to digest, such as iron or phosphorus, will become more readily available. Their resistance to root pathogens responsible for late blight and fusarium will increase, as will their resistance to adverse environmental factors, such as toxic compounds in the soil or unfavorable pH. Live mycorrhizal spawn can be used for heather. It is available at garden supply stores.

Immediately after spring pruning, it's worth fertilizing the plants, preferably with a slow-release fertilizer. Fast-release fertilizers should be used sparingly, as if applied too heavily, they can cause excessive soil salinity. Heather is very sensitive to this.

Slowly distribute nutrients around the bushes. Do this only once per season, applying 4-5 g to each plant. Fast-acting nutrients should only be applied 2 or 3 times. They should be applied no later than the end of June (at the same dosage).

When and how to prune heather

Pruning heather is an important part of its care, as it promotes vigorous growth and helps the bushes maintain their attractive appearance for longer. Damaged branches should be trimmed off, just below the dried shoot. The best time to prune heather is after winter, around April.

Wintering in open ground

Planting and caring for heather in open ground in the fall requires creating shelters. This perennial plant, with proper care, can delight the eye for decades. They also demonstrate good frost resistance. However, it's a good idea to cover young seedlings, especially if the bushes are growing in a wind-exposed area.

The best way to protect heather for the winter is to cover it with pine branches, needles, agrotextile, or cardboard. Covering the bushes with foil is not recommended, as this can lead to rotting and a lack of air. Heathers should also be covered during cold, snowless winters.

Heather diseases

Heather planted in soil that is too heavy and wet can develop gray mold. This appears as a whitish coating on the surface of the inflorescences. The shoots and flower buds begin to turn brown.

Late blight can develop during rainy weather and relatively high temperatures. In this case, heather shoots turn brown and bend downward, their bases rot, as do the plant's roots.

Advice!

Once you see that the disease is just beginning to affect the heather, you can try cutting off the infected shoots and spraying the bushes with an appropriate preparation.

Heather can also be affected by root rot, which causes the plant to wilt. Heather rust is characterized by the presence of brown-red fungal spores on the leaves. A small silvery coating, however, indicates the presence of thrips.

Heather is difficult to transplant because of its extensive root system. This can damage the roots and mycorrhizal mycelium. Therefore, the plant is usually purchased in special containers and replanted with a mound of soil. Furthermore, replanting can harm the heather if the new soil is not sufficiently acidic and is neutral or alkaline.

Growing tips

Knowing when to plant heather and how to care for it outdoors is easy. Looking at photos of the flowers forming magnificent carpets, it seems planting is complicated. But that's not the case.

It is only important to follow a number of rules:

Choose varieties that bloom early and are low-growing, so that the heather has enough time to prepare for winter and will be better covered with snow.
Don't plant wild heather found in the forest in your garden. Its flowers are inconspicuous and its bushes are untidy.
It's best to choose planting sites that receive at least half a day of sunlight. When planting, spread acidic (red) peat moss (0.5 per square meter), which is available in stores. Furthermore, the more acidic soil ingredients you add, the better.
Heather's most important characteristic is its inability to absorb water and nutrients from the soil on its own. For this purpose, it relies exclusively on forest mycelium. This mycelium is present in every forest, in the upper layers of soil. This mycelium must be distributed everywhere heather grows.

Tips for planting and care

Heather can be safely planted in the fall in the Moscow region and other regions. Neither planting nor caring for it in open ground presents any difficulties. This is due to the plants' resilience to any adverse conditions. Here are some additional tips for gardeners:

It's best to buy seedlings in pots with closed root systems. When planting, do not wash or shake off the soil to avoid disrupting the symbiosis between the roots and the fungi. Leave the soil level around the root collar at the same level as in the pot.
These plants like to be watered in warm weather.
For the first 2 years after planting the bushes, it is advisable to cover them for the winter with lutrasil of 60 density in 2 layers.
It's worth paying attention to varieties with yellow and orange leaves. They are frost-hardy and resistant to diseases and pests.