Erica darleyensis Golden Perfect - Winter Heath

The 'Golden Perfect' winter heather is appreciated for its compact and spreading habit and evergreen golden-yellow foliage. It is the ideal plant to brighten up a rockery or a flowerbed. From the beginning of winter until the end of spring, it is covered with white flowers, particularly melliferous, grouped in terminal clusters. Very hardy and undemanding, this heather appreciates the sun and well-drained soils, preferably acidic to neutral.

From the Ericaceae family, Erica x darleyensis is a hybrid resulting from the crossbreeding of Erica carnea, also known as snow heather, creeping (maximum height of 25 cm (10in)) and very floriferous, and Erica erigena or E. mediterranea, which grows wild in western Europe, between Ireland and Portugal, and can reach a height of 1.2 m (4ft). Erica x darleyensis has retained a creeping habit but is taller than E. carnea and has generous flowering and good cold resistance.

Erica x darleyensis 'Golden Perfect' is characterised by a creeping and dense habit. It forms a bush about forty centimetres high that spreads over 70 cm (28in) wide. Its delicate leaves resemble tiny needles. They are golden yellow in season and turn yellow-green in winter. From November to March, the 'Golden Perfect' heather is covered with small white and melliferous flowers. The urn-shaped flowers are grouped in clusters at the end of the branches. This small bright bush is decorative all year round and will find its place in all gardens and even in a pot on a terrace.

Easy to grow and hardy, this winter heather is perfect as a ground cover for creating rockeries and flowerbeds. Plant it alongside other heathers in groups of 3 to create a mass effect. The bright foliage will blend perfectly with Erica 'White Perfection' with white flowers or Erica 'Kramer's Rote' with colourful pink flowers. Illuminate a rockery of dwarf conifers with blue foliage like Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' or Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Alps'.