Erica Carnea - Cultivation and Uses

Cultivation and Uses

It is very widely grown as an ornamental plant for its winter flowering; over 100 cultivars have been selected for variation in flower and leaf colour. Unlike most species of Erica, which are typically calcifuges, it tolerates mildly alkaline as well as acidic soils, making it easier to grow in many areas. Like other species within the genus Erica it is often seen as groundcover amongst plantings of dwarf conifers.

The following cultivars, forms and hybrids have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

  • 'Adrienne Duncan'
  • 'Challenger'
  • 'Loughrigg'
  • 'Myretoun Ruby'
  • 'Nathalie'
  • 'Pink Spangles'
  • 'Praecox Rubra'
  • 'R.B. Cooke'
  • 'Rosalie'
  • 'Vivellii'
  • E. carnea f. alba (white-flowered):-
    • 'Golden Starlet'
    • 'Ice Princess'
    • 'Isabell'
    • 'Springwood White'
  • E. carnea f. aureifolia (golden-leaved):-
    • 'Foxhollow'
    • 'Sunshine Rambler'
    • 'Westwood Yellow'
  • E. × darleyensis (E. carnea × E. erigena)
    • 'Jenny Porter'


  • Erica carnea of the cultivar series 'Springwood'

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