Winter heathers: the 4 most beautiful white varieties

Winter Belles Katia heather: a small bush with large white bells

Heather Erica x darleyensis ‘Winter Belles Katia’ impresses us with the size of its inflorescences. This highly floriferous variety is adorned with a multitude of clusters measuring 3 to 10 cm in length, formed of adorable bell-shaped flowers. Their colour is a particularly bright pure white. The flowering lasts all winter: it begins in December and can extend until March. The dense evergreen foliage reveals a beautiful green. It is composed of small narrow lanceolate leaves.

This heather offers a compact ball-shaped habit of 50 cm in all directions, with an upright habit. Hardy down to about -15°C and fond of sunlight, it will be ideal in rockeries, as a border plant, but also in pots to brighten up winter on a terrace or balcony. Pair it with other ericaceous plants that flower in winter or with dwarf conifers.

Erica x darleyensis ‘Winter Belles Katia’

Winter heather ‘White Perfection’: an abundant and long flowering

Erica x darleyensis ‘White Perfection’ is a winter-flowering heather with an exceptionally long flowering period. It reveals white bell-shaped flowers clustered in long clusters, beautifully covering the branches. This variety is in bloom from December to April for several weeks, at a time when few plants show the tips of their petals.

Its foliage is equally decorative: very fine and bright green when young, it turns a deep green in winter as it matures. Its spreading silhouette makes it a perfect groundcover to prevent the development of weeds, to dress a slope, or to integrate into the foreground of a flowerbed. Longer than wide, it measures 45 cm in height and 70 cm in spread.

Hardy and thriving in both semi-shaded and sunny locations, this heather requires only well-drained soil to flourish.

Erica x darleyensis ‘White Perfection’

Winter heather ‘Silberschmelze’: a white flowering with silver reflections

Another winter heather with long-lasting white flowering: Erica x darleyensis ‘Silberschmelze’. Depending on the climate, this undershrub blooms between November and March-April. It gets its name from the silver hues (“Silber” in German) displayed by the hundreds of white bell-shaped flowers that cover its stems.

This snow heather also offers evolving foliage colour: initially light green speckled with cream in spring, it turns dark green in summer, before reddening in response to the cold. The very fine leaves resemble conifer needles. Certainly one of the most beautiful varieties of white winter heather!

Small in size, its spreading silhouette is wider than it is tall: it measures 35 cm in height and 50 cm in spread and forms a true vegetative cushion. This variety offers great hardiness beyond -15°C and has the advantage of better tolerating lime than other heather varieties. Provide it with a sunny spot at the front of a border, for example, alongside other winter-flowering heathers.

Erica x darleyensis ‘Silberschmelze’

Winter heather 'Springwood White': a bright and tolerant groundcover

Snow heather Erica carnea ‘Springwood White’ flowers from December to April. Its pure white flowering is particularly bright, perfectly harmonising with winter hues.

The heathers Erica carnea have the advantage of being more tolerant than their counterparts regarding soil type: they can indeed tolerate even non-acidic, slightly calcareous, and clayey soils, provided they are well-drained to allow water to flow without stagnating.

Place this heather in full sun or partial shade. Its spreading habit and small dimensions, reaching 25 cm in height and 40 cm in spread, make it perfect for a planter to enhance balconies and terraces throughout the cold season. Its silhouette is also well-suited for use as groundcover.

Erica carnea ‘Springwood White’