Other Names:  Spring Heath, Snow Heath, Winter Heath

Description:

An excellent groundcover, with lovely deep rose-pink flowers in winter and early spring over bronze-green, needle-like foliage; ideal for poor soils, also great for massing in the garden; requires organic highly acidic soil, full sun and no standing water

Ornamental Features

Saskia Heath is covered in stunning spikes of rose bell-shaped flowers with dark brown anthers rising above the foliage from mid winter to early spring. It has green foliage with hints of coppery-bronze. The tiny needles remain green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Saskia Heath is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Saskia Heath is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Saskia Heath will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 8 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider covering it with a thick layer of mulch in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.