Erica vagans Pyrenees Pink

The Erica vagans 'Pyrenees Pink' is a horticultural selection likely discovered in the Pyrenees, a region where the species is also found in the wild. Known as Cornish heath, brande, or wandering heather, this variety, like all heathers, belongs to the ericaceae family. The botanical species Erica vagans is native to Western Europe, from Portugal to England, and typically grows in heathlands and open woodlands on acidic, well-drained soils, preferably sandy and poor. It is a hardy plant, capable of thrivingwas likely discovered in the Pyrenees. Indeed, the species is found in this part of our territory, known as Cornish heather, brande or wandering heather. Like all heathers, this 'Pyrenees Pink' variety belongs to the ericaceae family. The botanical species Erica vagans is present in Western Europe, from Portugal to England. It is a plant of heathlands and open woodlands that generally grows on acidic and well-drained soils, preferably sandy and poor. Hardy, it grows up to 1600 m.

The 'Pyrenees Pink' heather forms a small, low, dense bush with a wide cushion-like appearance. Eventually, the plant measures about 30 cm in height and 40-45 cm in spread. Its branches are somewhat twisted, well upright at the ends, covered in tiny linear leaves (8 to 10 mm), like non-prickly needles. This heather flowers from August to October. Its small bell-shaped flowers, measuring 3 mm in length, are whorled, grouped in small compact, elongated clusters, often terminated by leaves. They are highly visited by bees. Their colour is light pink. The stamens that protrude from the corolla are dark red. The foliage, evergreen in winter, is light and vibrant green.

The 'Pyrenees Pink' wandering heather can be planted in a pocket of compost, between rocks in a rockery, along the edge of a raised bed or alongside a path, always in light soil, preferably non-calcareous. It thrives in the sun, in the company of other heathers with concurrent or staggered flowering: Erica carnea 'Isabell', E. darleyensis 'Kramer's Rot', and Calluna vulgaris 'Winter Chocolate', for example. To add a touch of whimsy to the scene, they can be paired with some low grasses that will lighten their mass. Heathers form beautiful carpets at the base of larger heathland shrubs: mountain laurels, brooms, Chinese azaleas, etc.

While heathers, especially those of the genus Erica, are associated with the humid Atlantic heaths of the oceanic north-facing coast (Brittany, Ireland, Scotland), some heathers thrive in dry climates and on limestone soils, Mediterranean heathers. But one of the richest areas in the world for heathers is located far away, in South Africa. In the Cape region, there is a plant formation on acidic soil, equivalent to our Mediterranean scrub vegetation, called Fynbos, which includes nearly 625 heather species out of the 740 recorded worldwide.