Winter heath
Erica carnea · Ericaceae
A low evergreen mat covered in tiny pink, white or purple bells from midwinter to spring, often flowering through snow.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late January to mid April
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around winter heath
The planner designed this bed around winter heath when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why winter heath stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Winter heath × 11, pink
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 7, pink
- 3 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Quaking grass × 3, tan
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
- 8 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are open bowls, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does quaking grass.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 11 plants in 3 groups (5, 3 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
- Fine leaf against bold. Stiff goldenrod is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 13 weeks. From late January to mid April.
- Opens the season. For its first 10 weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, from late May. For contrast, the bold leaves of stiff goldenrod sit beside the fine leaves of winter heath.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where winter heath goes in a border
At 10 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
It flowers for three months, at the time of year when it matters most. Unlike heather it tolerates some lime. Shear it lightly after flowering to keep it dense.
- Winter flowers
- Groundcover on sunny slopes
- With dwarf conifers
What to plant with winter heath
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Heather: carries the spot on into mid September; spires rising out of its mound; tall enough (16 in) to stand behind it.
- Mugo pine: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (5 ft) to stand behind it.
- Snowdrop: in flower together for four weeks, from early March; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about winter heath
Does winter heath need sun or shade?
Winter heath grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does winter heath grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 7. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does winter heath flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late January to mid April. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late January to mid April |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid January to mid April |
| Zone 7 | Mid January to early April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should winter heath be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many winter heath plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 11 in three groups.
Is winter heath poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like winter heath?
Winter heath comes from Central & E. Central Europe. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Lingonberry: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late May to mid June, wants moist soil.
- Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 5 in shorter, flowers mid April to mid May.
- Seaside daisy: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to late August, lavender, not pink.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat winter heath?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after winter heath?
Winter heath is over by mid April. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Creeping phlox: from mid April to mid May, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Grape hyacinth: from mid April to early May, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daffodil: from mid April to early May, 16 in tall.
What does winter heath look like in winter?
Winter heath keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone. It is grown for winter flowers as well.
Is winter heath good for bees and butterflies?
Winter heath is visited by bees.
More Erica
- Winter heath 'Kramer's Red' Erica x darleyensis 'Kramer's Rote'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for bees
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- The first flowers of spring
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub (groundcover)
- Size
- 10 in (25 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late January to mid April; hanging bells; pink, white, purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Comes from
- Central & E. Central Europe
- Attracts
- Bees
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.