Erica x darleyensis ‘Darley Dale’ (Winter Heath)

Loved for its very long blooming season, Erica x darleyensis ‘Darley Dale’ (Winter Heath) is a vigorous shrub with clouds of shell pink flowers, darkening to medium pink as they mature. Blooming heavily from fall to mid-spring (Nov-Apr), they cover the bright green foliage which displays attractive creamy tips in spring. Great at providing winter color while requiring little care, it is perfect at smothering weeds! This is a tough, hardy plant that takes both heat and cold surprisingly well.

• Grows up to 18 in. tall (45 cm) and 36 in. across (90 cm).
• Performs best in full sun in sandy, acidic, medium moisture, well-drained soils. Part shade is welcomed in hot summer areas. Newly planted Heath can dry out quickly once planted, so it is important to water regularly and thoroughly when the plant is young.
• Easy to grow, this plant is a welcomed addition to rock gardens, groundcover, slopes, coastal gardens, cottage gardens, or containers. Plant in groups for the best visual impact.
• Produces nectar that attracts bees on mild winter days, but is ignored by deer!
• Virtually disease and pest free, but watch for powdery mildew, root rot, rust, and wilt.
• Plants may be sheared lightly after flowers fade, but not any later since flower buds are formed during the summer. Annual light shearing promotes a bushier plant.
• Erica x darleyensis includes many hybrids of Erica carnea and Erica erigena. A taller growing shrub than Erica carnea, generally between 12-24 in. tall (30-60 cm), and bushier, it is useful in adding winter color at greater heights. It is loved for its early bloom and evergreen presence and forms bristling splashes of pink, white, purple, or red blooms in the landscape which are at their best with dwarf evergreens, conifers, and mixed plantings of heathers. Most varieties display needle-like mid-green foliage with pink, cream, or red, young growth in late spring and a bronzy foliage in the winter. Buds form in late summer or early fall, and some cultivars begin blooming as early as late September, often lasting until April