Summer heather: the most beautiful varieties

Calluna vulgaris 'Allegro'

With its single flowers wavering between carmine red and purple, this old variety dating from the 1970s possesses one of the most vibrant colours there is. The Calluna vulgaris Calluna vulgaris ‘Allegro’ blooms late but abundantly in summer, from August onwards, until the end of September, providing for two months a handsome height of 40–50 cm, sometimes up to 60 cm (slow-growing like its sisters, it reaches this size after about ten years). Very bushy in appearance, it is dense and stands out for its very erect habit. Its dark green foliage in summer will turn bronze in winter. Melliferous like most heathers, it fits happily into a border with alongside it a few Chinese fountain grass with cream plumes, all light and delicate, and Autumn stonecrop.

Calluna vulgaris 'Gold Haze'

Callunas are heathers often described as summer-flowering, although flowering generally occurs more toward the end of summer, from mid-August to the end of September.
Calluna vulgaris ‘Gold Haze’, or Golden Scottish heath, is a variety with golden foliage that attracts as much attention as its white flowering. It adds a touch of originality with this bright lemon-yellow foliage. ‘Gold Haze’ grows to 30-40 cm tall, forming a compact upright groundcover. It bears its small white flowering clusters upright from August to October. It prefers acidic, well-drained soil, in a sunny position, but will also grow in poor, peaty, even marshy soils.
This variety is particularly beautiful when planted close to other heathers that will continue flowering after it.

Calluna vulgaris ‘Gold Haze’ (©Kingsbrae Garden)

Calluna vulgaris 'H.E. Beale'

With its pearl-pink flowering on double flowers, the Calluna vulgaris ‘H.E. Beale’ is certainly one of the loveliest summer heathers. Attractively with its pale-pink hue, it features long spikes that bloom from August to November. Its grey-green foliage is another charm, lending a lot of softness to this variety.

‘H.E. Beale’ stays compact, not exceeding 50 cm in height at maturity, which makes it suitable for pretty pots. Like all Calluna, it enjoys sun and acidic, well-drained soil, and it is the ideal choice for a touch of wild, giving, when planted in mass, the impression of a summer-flowering heath. In a border, it will provide backbone to ferns, autumn asters such as the Asters ageratoides ‘Stardust’ or the dwarf ‘Marjorie’ asters.

Daboecia cantabrica 'Alba'

Belonging to the broad family of heathers, Daboecia cantabrica, also known as Irish heathers, Azores heathers, or bell heathers for their remarkable bell-shaped flowers, a little larger than those of other heathers, are undershrubs flowering all summer, often until October. They are the longest-flowering heathers in summer. These Irish heathers take on a very pretty chamois-toned colour in winter.

Many varieties offer red, purple or violet flowering, but Daboecia cantabrica ‘Alba’ is a marvel of freshness and elegance, with its pure white flowers beginning in June. It forms a broad, vigorous shrub reaching 30–40 cm in height at maturity. Its light-green evergreen foliage is bright and flexible, with a creeping habit. Plant it in full sun or partial shade, in acidic soil (pH between 4 and 5).

In a rock garden or along the edge of a border, plant this beautiful heath alongside skimmias and carex, or with ferns and saxifrages.

Erica vagans 'Mrs. D.F. Maxwell'

The Erica vagans, known as Cornish heaths, are magnificent heathers, cloaked with flowers that are white or, more often, pale pink, and sometimes a bright red, from June to October. They have a low habit, hence their nickname wandering heath, forming with age broad cushions that are slightly domed, highly ornamental.
The variety ‘Mrs D.F. Maxwell’ is one of the finest cultivars, flowering from late July to October. Its flowers are a deep pink, vibrant against dark green foliage. This heather thrives in acid soil and a sunny aspect. It establishes itself in acid soil, and tolerates slightly calcareous soils. Its particularity as Erica vagans is to enjoy humid atmospheres, so it will be a fine rock garden plant or border plant in the Normandy, Brittany or Basque regions. Pair it with creeping conifers, such as a Picea pungens ‘Kuba’, or companion it with a few autumn cyclamen forming another carpet at its side.

Erica vagans ‘Mrs D.F. Maxwell’ (© Leonora Enking)

Calluna vulgaris 'Winter Chocolate'

But back to Callunas, which offer a wide diversity of varieties. The Calluna vulgaris ‘Winter Chocolate’ is very striking with its golden-yellow foliage that turns to bright orange in mid-winter. If that attribute makes it one of those ever-changing varieties we love, it remains ornamental during the summer period in question, flowering continuously from August to September, and giving the garden a late-summer burst of colour. The single flowers display a ravishing pink colour, very fresh against the golden foliage.

‘Winter Chocolate’ is able to withstand periods of drought once established. Growing to around 40 cm in height, you can plant ‘Winter Chocolate’ in a handsome trough alongside ivy, or in the ground in an azalea bed, for example.

Calluna vulgaris ‘Winter Chocolate’ (©Wikimedia Commons Krysztof Ziarnek)

Erica terminalis, or Corsican heath

The Corsican heath is another species in the genus Erica, very useful as it tolerates damp soils as long as they are well-drained, and it tolerates calcareous soils. It is also different in its size, taller, forming a very ramified shrub about 1 m tall at maturity, with an equally wide spread. Flowering lasts a long time, starting in July and continuing through September, or even longer depending on the region. The leaves are particularly narrow and fine, and the small pink bell-shaped flowers are pale, almost mauve pink, tightly clustered at the tips of the stems. They turn to a beautiful copper-orange during the colder months. It can be planted in full sun, as well as in partial shade.

Given its dimensions, place Erica terminalis in a low hedge or on a slope, but it is also beautiful in a large border. Pair it with compact Pittosporum such as ‘Midget’ and with shrubby veronicas.

NB: There are also other heathers flowering in midsummer, with white, pink, mauve to violet blooms such as Erica tetralix and its cultivars and Erica cinerea, both remaining modest in stature (about 25 to 40 cm tall) and with a spreading habit. Erica cinerea are better suited to milder climates due to their lower hardiness, and Erica tetralix in non-calcareous soils. Finally Cape heath or Erica verticillata offers a lovely option for coastal gardens with pale pink flowers.