Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Other

Calluna vulgaris 'Spring Torch': Colorful Heather for Year-Round Interest

Calluna vulgaris 'Spring Torch' – Vibrant New Growth & Pink Spikes

'Spring Torch' Scotch heather earns its name from vibrant spring new growth tipped in cream, orange, and red. Mauve-pink flower spikes cover the plant summer into fall. Foliage acquires bronze/purple tones in cold weather. Small mounding evergreen shrub – good groundcover or rock garden plant. Bees love it.

Care Requirements

Needs open site, well-drained fertile acidic soil, full sun. Mulch and cover with pine boughs if snow cover inconsistent. Prune annually in spring by cutting back flowered shoots to within an inch of previous year's growth. Propagate by layering in spring or semi-ripe cuttings in mid-summer. Spider mites may appear in hot summers.

At a Glance

Height/Spread: 1–3 ft.
Light: Full sun
Moisture: Medium
Bloom: Summer to fall (pink)
Foliage: Colorful (cream/orange/red tips, bronze/purple winter)
Uses: Groundcover, rock garden, cut flower

Other: Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra): Glossy Red Berries on Woodland Perennial; Carpet Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans): Fast-Spreading Groundcover with Blue Spring Flowers; Giant Onion (Allium giganteum): Towering Lilac-Pink Globes for Summer Borders; Granny’s Bonnet (Aquilegia vulgaris): Classic Nodding Blue and White Flowers; Calycanthus 'Venus': White Magnolia-Like Blooms; Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua): Late-Summer Bloomer for Moist Shade; Corydalis cheilanthifolia – Fern-Leaved Corydalis with Bronzy Foliage; Corydalis lutea – Yellow Corydalis, Long-Blooming Shade Perennial; Dalea greggii (Trailing Indigo Bush): Tough Groundcover for Slopes; Dianthus deltoides (Maiden Pink): Easy Self-Sowing Groundcover

Garden Articles

Euphorbia griffithii: Orange-Red Bracts & Vigorous Spreader

Hydrangea quercifolia: Oakleaf Hydrangea with Four-Season Interest

Kolkwitzia amabilis: Beautybush with Pink Bell-Shaped Flowers

Creeping Jenny: Golden Groundcover for Moist Areas

Pulsatilla vulgaris: Pasque Flower

Canary Island Sage (Salvia canariensis): Tender Giant with Violet Plumes

Sprekelia formosissima: Aztec Lily for Container Culture and Scarlet Blooms

Plants

Agastache 'Summer Breeze': Translucent Tubular Blossoms in Sunset Shades

Calamintha 'Variegata': Mint-Fragrant Foliage and Pink Flowers

Callistemon citrinus 'Splendens': Red Bottlebrush for Hummingbirds

Daphne × transatlantica 'Summer Ice': Reblooming Variegated Daphne for Sun or Shade

Euphorbia 'Fireglow': Vivid Orange-Fuchsia Bracts on Red Stems

Heuchera 'Velvet Night' (Heuchera 'Velvet Night'): Dark Plum Foliage with Greenish White Flowers

Syringa vulgaris 'Sensation': Bicolor Lilac with Purple Flowers Edged in White