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Erica carnea
Also called Heath, Spring Heath
Erica carnea, winter heath, is a low evergreen subshrub from the mountains of central and southern Europe, grown for its late-winter to early-spring flowers. It tolerates both acid and mildly alkaline soils, which makes it easier to grow than most heaths.
Erica carnea, the winter heath, winter-flowering heather, spring heath or alpine heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to mountainous areas of central, eastern and southern Europe, where it grows in coniferous woodlands or stony slopes.
Erica carnea was being cultivated in the United Kingdom as early as 1763. It is very widely grown as an ornamental plant for its winter flowering; over 100 cultivars have been selected for variation in flower and leaf colour. Unlike most species of Erica, which are typically calcifuges, it tolerates mildly alkaline as well as acidic soils, making it easier to grow in many areas. Like other species within the genus Erica it is often seen as groundcover amongst plantings of dwarf conifers.
The following cultivars, forms and hybrids have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:
Tree Heath · Spanish Heath · Hairy grey heather · Fire heath · Scotch heath · Darley Dale Heath · Irish Heath · Hairyflower Heath · Portuguese Heath · Erica mackaiana · Nine-pin heath · Erica multiflora
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Erica carnea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
