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Heather life span
Spewy
Posts: 23
Hello again all.
Please see attached pic that I posted last year. The heather is looking a bit worse for wear in comparison to this pic, was wondering if they have a relatively short life span? They have been planted for 6 or 7 years.
I was going to dig the up and replant something else. Are they deep rooted?
0
Posts
Bit like lavenders- they become old and patchy.
Its not easy to rejuvenate them
I have two that were in our rockery when we bought the house, they were well established when we moved in and we have been here for 13 years and they are still going strong and look wonderful
C. vulgaris can be layered or burned. They go on for many years in the wild before the landowners rejuvenate the cover by burning I haven't tried either though have woody specimens in the garden. I need to look into it further myself look into it before torching my garden.
Especially that close to your house!
Heather can be rejuvenated quite easily. Cover the base of the plants with mounds of ericaceous compost mixed with some sharp sand and leave them alone for about a month. By that time check around the plants for signs of new growth. You should see the new growth coming through the compost. Then leave for another few weeks, after which you can cut back the old top growth, leaving you with fresh new growth. You can do this as many times as you want. If your'e wondering where this comes from, it was Percy Thrower who demonstrated it on a GW programme, years ago.