Common Heather (Calluna vulgaris)

Common Heather (Calluna vulgaris)

Common heather, or ling, is a small evergreen shrub, typically growing to only 20cm. It likes open sunny conditions and acid soil, which is why in the UK we so much associate it with peat bogs and heathland.

It's super hardy, surviving extremes or temperature and regular burning, which explains why it's range is so big. Common heather is native to Europe, where it's found from Iceland to the Azores. 

Calluna is botanically distinct to the closely related Erica, although they're very similar at first sight. There are lots of cultivars available, but we only sell the native plant. 

The honey produced from Heather nectar is delicious; beekeepers hereabouts take their colonies down to Exmoor in high summer to produce it. Calluna vulgaris is pollinated by a wide range of pollinators, but mostly bumblebees and solitary bess. 

We supply Common heather plants grown in Yorkshire in small 9cm pots, in multiples of 5.

Suppliers: R.V.Roger