Daboecia cantabrica Creeping White - Irish Heath

The Daboecia cantabrica 'Creeping White' is a selection of White-flowered Irish Heath that stands out for its softly tousled habit. It is not a truly creeping plant, but it develops long, very flexible stems that overlap and give it a unique appearance. It is an evergreen undershrub that also stands out for the duration of its flowering and the beautiful size of its bells. The Cantabrian heath thrives in a humid and temperate maritime climate. It is exclusively cultivated in acidic and well-drained soil, in rockeries, bordering flower beds, or in planters.

The Daboecia cantabrica 'Creeping White' is a plant in the ericaceae family. Its wild ancestor is native to Western Europe, specifically Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and the Azores Islands. In our well-watered regions of Maine-et-Loire, Gironde, Basses and Hautes-Pyrénées, and Tarn-et-Garonne, this undershrub grows spontaneously at the edge of woodlands and heathlands, on acidic, sandy, or peaty soils, poor but not drying out. Frugal, the St. Daboec heather is also a plant capable of withstanding temperatures around -15 °C (5°F).

The habit of this 'Creeping White' heather is unique, bushy, carried by numerous elongated, hairy, and glandular branches at the top, which partially straighten up in all directions. At maturity, the plant will measure about 30 cm (12in) in height with a spread of 45 cm (18in). Its small elliptical oval evergreen leaves are 1 cm (<1in) long and 4 to 5 mm (<1in) wide, simple, leathery, and alternately arranged on the branches. Green and glossy on the upper side, they are hairy and curl at the edges on the reverse side. The long-lasting flowering starts in June and only ends in September-October. Gathered in terminal clusters, the flowers are charming pendulous bells measuring 1 cm (<1in) long and 3 to 4 mm (<1in) in diameter. Their colour is pure white. This melliferous flowering attracts and nourishes numerous pollinating insects.

Well-adapted to sandy, very poor, and very acidic soils, the Cantabrian heath is an ideal small shrub for landscaping sufficiently humid coastal gardens in summer. It can be planted en masse, mixing varieties, to vegetate a rockery or a sandy slope where few plants accept to grow. It can be associated with Sea Thrift, Azorella, and other Heathers for example. It can also be grown in pots on the terrace or balcony for its slightly wild appearance and long flowering: choose a large enough container and keep the substrate (exclusively acidic) always slightly moist.