Calluna vulgaris Pink Bettina - Heather

Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Pink Bettina' is a summer heather from the Garden Girls series that stands out for its flowering buds that do not open. Thus, the spikes of 'Pink Bettina', filled with small light pink beads, are unaffected by frost and rain and last throughout autumn without getting damaged, from September to December. Its evergreen foliage is green-grey in colour. Plant this heather in a rock garden, at the edge of a flower bed, or in a lovely pot on the terrace, in acidic and well-drained soil or substrate.

Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Pink Bettina' belongs to the family of Ericaceae. Its ancestor, the common heather, the only species in the genus Calluna, forms the dominant vegetation of barren heathlands in the cold regions of the UK and Northern Europe. 'Pink Bettina' is an evergreen shrub that forms small tufted bushes, with a wide and upright habit, reaching approximately 60cm in height and 50cm in width after 5 years of cultivation. Decorative throughout the year thanks to its beautiful evergreen foliage, this cultivar flowers from early September to December. Its flower buds are arranged in upright and flexible spikes.

The Garden Girls 'Pink Bettina' Heather is a light and refined plant, which thrives in any acidic, moist to dry soil, in full sun or partial shade. It brings elegance to wild areas of the garden as well as low-maintenance or weekend gardens. Beautiful when planted in masses with other species and varieties, it also pairs nicely with dwarf asters and short ornamental grasses, in a rock garden, on a slope, or in an informal border. In a heathland flowerbed, it can be planted at the base of witch hazels, Pieris, or Skimmia japonica. On the terrace or balcony, it adorns pots and planters, for autumnal floral arrangements of small perennials and bulbs.

The Calluna vulgaris can withstand moderate grazing. It represents an important food source for sheep and deer when vegetation is covered with snow. It is capable of regenerating after a fire. In the past, this plant was considered magical and used in white magic rituals; it was attributed protective powers, as in the Breton heathlands, where it is said to ward off ghostly spirits. Calluna is also an ingredient in gruit, an aromatic composition used in brewing beer before the use of hops in the Middle Ages. Its flowering tops have been used in herbal medicine for a very long time, as they are reputed to "dissolve bladder stones".