Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Agnes' – 'Agnes' Heather

Enhance your fall landscapes with the vibrant colors of Garden Girls® 'Agnes' Heather. This compact dwarf shrub covers itself in a multitude of intense reddish-pink flower buds that proudly persist from August straight into the heart of winter. Because its flowers remain closed as buds, they resist rain, wind, and frost without ever losing their brilliance. Its dark green scale-like foliage offers an elegant structure and the perfect backdrop to make this long-lasting bloom shine.

Characteristics

• Foliage : Evergreen, scale-like leaves that are very small and dense, displaying a deep dark green all year round.
• Flowering : Abundant dark pink to bright red flower buds that do not open fully, extending color from late summer through winter.
• Light : Requires full sun or light partial shade to ensure vibrant coloration and a dense habit.
• Habit : Dwarf, compact, spreading, and upright shrub.
• Growth : Slow-growing; forms a neatly structured small bush.
• Soil : Needs acid, poor, well-drained soil that remains consistently cool, ideally enriched with sphagnum peat moss.
• Temperature : Hardiness zone 4.
• Resistances : Highly resistant to cold, wind, and White-tailed deer browsing.

Use

• Types of use : Integrate into rock gardens, bed borders, acidic mass plantings, or in patio containers and balcony boxes for fall decor.
• Decorative benefits : Maintains vivid, bright color during the cold season when the rest of the garden goes dormant.

Maintenance

• Watering : Keep the soil consistently cool, especially after planting. Water regularly without saturating the soil.
• Fertilization : Apply a light fertilizer for acid-loving plants in early spring if necessary.
• Pruning : Prune lightly just below the old flowers in early spring to stimulate new growth and maintain a compact shape.
• Planting : Plant in well-drained acidic soil (a mix of soil and peat moss), ensuring the crown is not buried.
• Winter protection : Cover with a light layer of evergreen branches in fall to protect the foliage from drying winter winds.