Erica × darleyensis ‘White Perfection’. (Richie Steffen)

Erica × darleyensis ‘White Perfection’. (Richie Steffen)

Great Plant Pick: Erica × darleyensis ‘White Perfection’

  • Mass plantings of this heath create an excellent groundcover for sunny locations, providing outstanding winter interest.
  • Friday, December 2, 2022 1:30am
  • Life

What: Erica × darleyensis ‘White Perfection’, commonly called White Perfection Darley heath has the brightest white flowers of almost any heath. Blooming from December to April, its small, bell-shaped flowers are set atop bright green leaves that have yellow tips in spring. Its overall shape is spreading, but its branches are held upright. It was found as a sport (spontaneous mutation) on ‘Silberschmelze’ in the Netherlands. Mass plantings of this heath create an excellent groundcover for sunny locations, providing outstanding winter interest. Heaths add interest to winter containers and produce nectar that attracts bees on mild winter days.

Where: Heath produces the most flowers in full sun. It prefers a location with well-drained or sandy soil and it is best to water regularly during dry weather.

Size: Grows to 1½ feet tall by 2½ wide in 10 years.

Care: Newly planted heath can dry out quickly once planted so it is important to water often and deeply when the plant is young. It can also be helpful to soak the plant in a bucket of water to fully saturate the soil before planting. After the blossoms have faded a light shearing will remove most of the faded flowers and promote dense growth.

— greatplantpicks.org

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