heather
Calluna vulgaris
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones4 to 6
SunHandles full sun to partial sun
WaterHandles moderate to moist soil
Size12 to 24 inches tall12 to 24 inches wide
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Habit
- Ascending
- Bloom season
- Summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Rose pink to purplish pink
- Foliage color
- Gray/silver, green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Heather (Calluna vulgaris) is a shrub for borders, rock gardens, and pollinator gardens. It is hardy to USDA zone 4, or down to -30°F (-34°C). This plant likes full or part sun and average to moist, sandy or loamy soil. It stays evergreen, with gray, silver, and green leaves that look good all year. Rose pink to purplish pink flowers appear in summer and again in autumn, and bees visit them. Deer tend to pass it by.
Pairs well with Blue fescue, Susan magnolia, and Greig's tulip.
Native range
Europe, Central Asia, Africa, Azores, and 6 more places. See all 10
Europe, Central Asia, Africa, Azores, Corse, Føroyar, Krasnoyarsk, Madeira, NW. Balkan Pen., and Türkiye.