Calluna vulgaris Spring Cream - Heather

Calluna vulgaris 'Spring Cream' is a very pretty variety of Summer Heather or Heather. Its vivid green foliage has the whimsy of producing young white cream shoots in spring and early summer. In autumn and winter, its leaves are tipped with yellow points. From August to October, a white flowering adds to the charm of this very bright variety. It was awarded in 2001 with an Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society in England. It is an extremely hardy plant, perfectly adapted to acidic soils and harsh climates, for borders, rockeries, or pots.

Calluna vulgaris, the only species in the genus Calluna belonging to the Ericaceae family, constitutes, in its natural habitat, the dominant vegetation of barren heathlands in cold regions of the United Kingdom and Northern Europe. 'Spring Cream' is an evergreen shrub that forms small bushy, slightly disheveled bushes, with a somewhat erect and spreading habit, reaching 35cm (14in) in height and 40 to 45cm (16 to 18in) in width. Its growth is quite slow. Decorative all year round, it is adorned with beautiful cream-white flowering between June and October. Its small flowers are densely clustered on upright, compact, yet flexible spikes. Its foliage is evergreen, scaly, resembling that of a small conifer.

These heathers are superb summer heathers, light and graceful as well as dense, very pleasant when planted in mass with other varieties with diverse foliage and flowering. They also make good ground cover in heathland soils or along pathways. To extend the flowering period, they can be mixed with winter-flowering heathers. They are excellent rockery plants. As an acid soil species, heather accompanies Witch Hazels, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Pieris, and Skimmia japonica. It is a melliferous plant, used in beekeeping due to the high sugar content of its nectar. Heather honey is characterized by its gelatinous texture and dark colour.

Calluna vulgaris tolerates moderate grazing. It represents an important source of food for sheep and deer when the 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. Heather is also an ingredient in gruit, an aromatic composition used in beer brewing 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 stones in the bladder."