Gardening for Amateurs 



933 



Although one or more Heaths may be 

 found in flower at almost any time through- 

 out the year, there are two periods when a 

 better display is made than at other times, 

 one of these being spring and the other 

 autumn. By selecting kinds which bloom at 

 these seasons and planting them together 

 excellent effects are produced. 



Soil. Heaths will succeed in either peat 

 or loam, providing lime is not present in 

 the soil to any appreciable extent, but if 

 the soil is rich in lime it is quite unsuitable 

 for this class of plant. Assuming that it is 

 free from lime, all the preparation required 

 is to dig it over 15 or 18 inches deep. Should 

 it be light, so much the better, and if a little 

 peat or leaf-mould is available it may be 

 forked into the upper 9 inches with advan- 

 tage, but on no account excavate large areas 

 and fill them with peat. It is expensive 

 and unnecessary, for the plants thrive quite 

 as well and perhaps better in natural soil 

 with a little peat added. Planting mav be 

 carried out any time during autumn, winter 

 or spring. All the Heaths benefit if the old 

 flower-heads are cut away as soon as the 

 flowers fade. This is easily done by remov- 

 ing the points of the branches, which is all 

 the pruning required. 



How Heaths are Increased. As the 

 Heaths may all be procured at a moderate 

 price, owners of small gardens will doubt- 

 less prefer to purchase rather than propa- 

 gate their own plants, but should they wish 

 to increase their stock it may be done by one 

 of three methods. These are : seeds, cuttings 

 and layers. The former are collected and 

 sown in peaty soil as soon as they are ripe. 

 As they are very small they require careful 

 handling, and it is usual to sow them on 

 the surface of the soil, leaving them un- 

 covered, except for a sheet of paper to check 

 evaporation and shading them from sun. As 

 a rule they are sown in well-drained pans in 

 a frame, the seedlings being pricked off when 

 large enough to handle. Cuttings are "made 

 from young shoots, 1 to 1| inches long, during 

 July and August. They are dibbled into 

 pots or beds of sandy peat made very firm, 

 and are covered with bell-glasses or hand- 

 lights until rooted. They are then gradu- 

 ally inured to the open air, planted out 

 in frames or borders, pruned frequently to 



ensure a stocky foundation, and kept in 

 nursery quarters until large enough for per- 

 manent planting. Layering is practised in 

 some places. The branches are weighted 

 down into sandy soil by means of stones, at 

 any time of year, and are left for about two 

 years. During that time roots are formed 

 and the young plants are eventually cut 

 away from the parent plants and placed 

 separately in nursery rows. Those raised 

 from cuttings are, however, preferable to 

 those obtained from layers. 



The Heaths are known under the botanical 

 name of Erica and with them may be classed 

 the Ling, Calluna vulgaris, for it only differs 

 in a few botanical details and is put to the 

 same uses as the Heaths in gardens. 



Erica arborea. This is a tall-growing 

 spring-flowering Heath from the Mediter- 

 ranean region. Although usually met with 

 from 4 to 8 feet in height, it sometimes 

 attains a height of 18 or 20 feet. The white 

 fragrant flowers appear in spring. Its 

 variety alpina is hardier than the type and 

 is recognised by its more upright and 

 plumose habit. From large nodules produced 

 on the roots of E. arborea the so-called 

 brier-root pipes of commerce are made. 



E. australis is another rather tender 

 kind which is found wild in Portugal. It 

 is distinguished by its somewhat loose 

 habit and large red flowers which appear 

 in spring. Mature plants may be 5 or 6 

 feet high. 



E. carnea, from the European Alps, is 

 a pretty, dwarf, spring - flowering kind. 

 Rarely growing more than 6 or 8 inches 

 high, it is remarkable for its wealth of 

 reddish flowers which last from February to 

 May. The variety alba has white flowers. 



E. ciliaris is one of our British Heaths. 

 Of very dwarf habit, the branches are long 

 and slender, and are clothed with small, 

 hairy leaves. The red flowers appear during 

 late summer and autumn. The variety 

 maweana is in every way superior to the 

 type. Of more vigorous habit, it forms 

 sturdy growths 9 or 12 inches high, and bears 

 handsome heads of large red flowers. 



E. cinerea. Everyone must know this 

 plant, for it floods our commons with a glow 

 of colour during July and August. Its 

 reddish-purple flowers are most attractive, 



