YEAR BOOK
OF THE

HEATHER >
SOCIETY |

1987

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THE HEATHER SOCIETY
Affiliated Societies:
Nederlandse Heidevereniging ‘Ericultura’
Gesellschaft der Heidefreunde
North American Heather Society

President:
Mr. C. D. BRICKELL, V.M.H.
Vice-Presidents:

Dr. V. GRAY Mrs. D. METHENY
Mrs. C. I. MacLEOD Mr. D. McCLINTOCK, T.D., F.L.S.
Chairman:

Maj.-Gen. P. G. TURPIN, C.B., O.B.E.

Secretary:

Mrs. P. B. LEE
Treasurer:

Mr. D. B. OLIVER
Council:

Mr. D. M. EDGE Mr. H. L. NICHOLSON, M.B.E.
Mrs. D. EVERETT Mr. D. H. E. ROPE
Mr. A. W. JONES Mr. D. J. SMALL
Mrs. D. H. JONES Mr. A. J. STOW
Mr. P. L. JOYNER Mr. G. P. VICKERS
Mr. D. J. T. MAYNE
Administrator:

Mrs. A. SMALL, Denbeigh, All Saints Road, Creeting St. Mary,
Ipswich, Suffolk IP6 8PJ
Editors:
Bulletin: Mrs. D. H. JONES, Otters’ Court, West Camel,
Somerset BA22 7QF.
Year Book: Mr. A. W. JONES, Otters’ Court, West Camel,
Somerset BA22 7QF.
Registrar:
Mr. D. McCLINTOCK, Bracken Hill, Platt, Sevenoaks, Kent,
TN15 8JH.
Slide Librarian:
Mr. D. J. SMALL, Denbeigh, All Saints Road, Creeting St.
Mary, (pswich, Suffolk IP6 8PJ.

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

CONTENTS
Volume 3 No. 5

ISSN 0440-5757

FED TF ORUA Goes oo ical Saye erator el rae s ope alee occ ep OI eee aN
FROM THE CHAIRMAN — Mgaj.-Gen. P. G. Turpin ......... 0.00. eevee
ANNUAL CONFERENCE, TETLEY HALL, LEEDS,

SEPTEMBER 1986 — Mrs. B. Mayne ........ 0... ccc cc cece cece nee eees
HEATHER MOORLANDS : ORIGINS, MANAGEMENT &

RECENT CHANGES — Dr. R. Smith 2.0.0... ccc ccc ccc cence cece nees

THE SILVER-LEAVED FORMS OF Calluna —
Maj.-Gen: P. |G Tirpin ore oe alee src oe cies eal ree taal
FROM WILDERNESS TO HEATHER GARDEN — D. A. Richards .....

A LETTER FROM AUSTRALIA — Mrs. A. Parris ....... 00. c cece eens
BOOK REVIEW — Heaths and Heathers; A Wisley Handbook,
New Edition — Maj.-Gen. P. G. Turpin .......... 00. cece ee eee eee
A NEWLY DISCOVERED BOOK ON HEATHERS —
DD: MCCUNIOCK: i505 fo ee ee ae ee Ra oe Seinen si ca oe
HYBRIDISATION OF THE HARDY ERICAS. PART 2. E. x williamsii,
E. x watsonit, AND NEW HYBRIDS FROM E. manipuliflora —
DY. So Gruguns. ooo se elas oie eo ose, © eee ee) ea
NOTES ON Erica manipuliflora, E. vagans AND THEIR HYBRIDS
A, WETOMESS hes aik is EID iA S alos eae 0 RRO Te Ae eS ene
NEW ACQUISITIONS! —J. Platt 5. ...0dsas cnauiee | acbio eine eos:
CULTIVARS REGISTERED IN 1986 — The Registrar ..................
PERSONAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES FOR HARDY
HEATHERS — 6th SUPPLEMENT — D. McClintock .................
PERSONAL NAMES FOR SOUTH AFRICAN ERICAS. PART 1 —
D.: MoClintock tans J ig Me ee ae ceo orelens ooo ciecake ceo eters ean toe

YEAR BOOK 1987

Editorial

The past year has seen the formation of another
organisation concerned with heather growing. As was
reported in the summer Bulletin, the inaugural meeting
of the British Heather Growers Association took place
on Ist May 1986. The name indicates that it aims to
further the interests of commercial producers, but
ultimately this will benefit all who buy heather plants. At
the Council meeting on the 12th August our Chairman
said that he was greatly encouraged by the formation of
the Association, and agreed to write to John Hall, the
Association’s Chairman, conveying the good wishes of
the Council.

It was David Edge who had the idea of forming the
BHGA, and organised the preliminary discussions with
a number of other growers. We are fortunate that David
has agreed to join the Council. He was formally elected
at the AGM at Tetley Hall, Leeds on 6th September.

The work on clonal selection that the BHGA hopes
to undertake is similar to that started by the Heather
Society at Harlow Car in 1967 at the instigation of the
late John Ardron. By 1975 recordings had been made
there at twice monthly intervals for six years, and the
results were ready for publication. Some of the recording
team dropped out at that stage, considering their work
complete. John Ardron dragooned a number of northern
members into maintaining the plants and continuing the
work. So it was that Mr. T. A. Julian, who had joined the
Society in 1973, became involved with the trials. In
1977 he was elected to the Council, and joined the
Technical Committee. He was Chairman of that com-
mittee from 1978 to 1983.

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Most of that information on Albert Julian could have
been gleaned from the lists of Council and Committee
Members in past Year Books, but it gives little impres-
sion of the amount of work that this quiet, modest man
has done so enthusiastically for the Heather Society.
Even now he continues to look after the trials ground at
Harlow Car, where he introduced chemical weed control
when it could no longer influence the trials results, and
carried out experiments with black polythene mulches.
He frequently drives the seventy or so miles from
Whaley Bridge, and sleeps in the hut overnight in order
to give himself longer working days.

During his period as Chairman of the Technical
Committee, he controlled the often heated discussions
that preceded the publication of the preferred list of
cultivars. Subsequently he became involved with the still
uncompleted work of preparing for the publication of the
International Register, and he has produced a card index
of over 1000 cultivars.

When the possibility of setting up reference collec-
tions at Wisley and Harlow Car came up in 1978, he was
asked to join the sub-committee that was to liaise with
those gardens. He has carried out the work of supplying
cutting material to both gardens from the authenticated
plants on the Harlow Car trial ground. He has also been
instrumental in setting up a reference collection at the
Grenada Arboretum at Jodrell Bank, where he did much
of the planting himself. In 1986 he planted the new
reference collections in the Northern Horticultural
Society’s garden at Harlow Car.

In 1986 he retired from the Council, but fortunately
has agreed to continue as a member of the Technical

YEAR BOOK 1987

Committee. Thank you Albert for all you have done, and
are continuing to do for the Heather Society.

From the Chairman

Maj.-Gen. P. G. Turpin, C.B., O.B.E.
West Clandon, Surrey.

Why are we stirred to such excitement, whenever we
see a piece of yellow or red foliage among our heathers?
More heathers have been named because of some
variation in foliage than for any other distinction,. More
than 80 Callunas with yellow or golden foliage have
been given names. And yet in most cases the appearance
of yellow foliage in heathers is a sign of discoloration
- caused by soil conditions or disease, rather than any
genetic variation. Healthy heathers normally have green
foliage. Sometimes a plant is infected by a virus and for
some time an interesting form of variegation appears, but
often this disappears after the plant has built up a
resistance to the virus. This seems to be happening to
Calluna ‘Japanese White’, which in many gardens has
almost lost its attractive variegated foliage.

I can recall at least two occasions when first prizes
were awarded at R.H.S. Shows to exhibits with golden
foliage, which have owed their brilliant colour to a
temporary soil condition and which have reverted to
their normal green foliage when planted in suitable soil.
No blame to the judges, who can only assess an exhibit
as it is presented.

We should always be suspicious when a whole plant —

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

suddenly turns yellow. It might be due to a fungal disease
or merely to the presence of chemicals in the soil, to
which the plant has suddenly obtained access. At a site
in Cornwall, where there are derelict mine workings, a
wonderful range of colour foliage heathers can be found
— the result of the rich metal deposits in the soil — but
they do not retain their brilliant colours when they are
transplanted into normal soil conditions. The most likely
prospect is a coloured shoot appearing as a mutation or
“sport’, which, when propagated, will probably retain
the characteristic. This is how £. vagans ‘Valerie
Proudley’ and E. erigena ‘Golden Lady originated —
two outstanding foliage plants.

Sometimes a plant will grow in the same place for
four or five years without showing any sign of discolora-
tion and then part or the whole of the plant suddenly
turns yellow — a from of chlorosis, caused by the lack of
essential nutrients or the presence of chemicals inimical
to healthy growth.

In addition to the many golden forms of Calluna
there are now at least a dozen golden forms of E. carnea.
In many cases there is little to distingish one from
another. There is only a limited range of colour between
the yellow of ‘Gold Haze’ and the rich orange-red of ‘Sir
John Charrington’ and ‘Firefly’, or between the colour of

E. carnea. ‘Sunshine Rambler and ‘Ann Sparkes’.
Most of these shades are already represented several
times over in our lists of named cultivars. Before we add
to this tally, let us be sure that we have got something
which is really different and which can add something
new to the existing varieties.

YEAR BOOK 1987

Annual Conference, Tetley Hall,
Leeds,
September 1986

Mrs. B. Mayne, Barnet, Hertfordshire.

Friday September 5th in Headingley saw an unusual
influx of cars from all parts of the British Isles wandering
in circles. Later all was revealed. They were looking for
Tetley Hall, a very pleasant, but obscure venue in that
northern suburb of Leeds. We were greeted warmly by
Dr. Barraclough and his wife, had a welcoming tea, sett-
led into our single rooms, and then met friends from pre-
vious Conferences. Not so many this year, 39 in all;
silver wedding, christenings, and sadly, bereavements
had reduced our numbers.

After being officially, but no less warmly, welcomed
by our Chairman, Maj.-Gen. Turpin, our first talk was
on the difficulties of maintaining Ilkley Moor. Dr.
Richard Smith from the School of Geography at Leeds
University (see p. 12) pointed out the problems of
numbers of visitors versus preserving the moors formed
15,000 years ago. The heather is disappearing, rapidly
to be overtaken by the ubiquitous bracken. There is
conflict between the Forestry Commission, whose
plantations produce acidity, and Bradford City Council
who try to provide a water supply for the increasing
population. An interesting experiment of three sections
of the moor, burnt, fenced off and left to re-seed, pro-
duced wonderful stands of Calluna.

Peter Vickers then proceeded to instruct us in a very

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

down-to-earth way on the art of propagation. “Stick
shoots in a mixture of peat and perlite or sand, cover
them and leave in a cool place to root. There, no magic,
just don’t be impatient”. Why then do some of my
cuttings fail to root, damp off and fail to reproduce our
favourite plants? Peter insists we must be doing some-
thing wrong — its easy. Good job I only do it for fun!

Next morning, Don Richards from _ beautiful
Lakeland astonished us all by relating how he created his
garden by heaving great rocks from a field he bought to
prevent it being turned into a pig farm*. He found
Cromwellian relics, and deer found him. After various
ploys to keep them away, he finally resorted to a deer
fence. Heathers in his garden produce wonderful seed-
lings. Erica cinerea ‘John Ardron’ and Daboecia
“Blueless’ are two, ana in’ the damp climate they
grow profusely.

On our behalf Mr. Richards kindly negotiated with
Silvaperl and presented us all with packs of Perlite and
Synagol rooting compound. Watch out for our cuttings
now !

Mr. L. Knight, Chairman of the Northern
Horticultural Society then told us of how he planted the
first heathers at Wisley in 1926. He had many ideas for
planting heathers under trees and showed examples
with slides of how he thought landscapes could be
improved. His plantings at Golden Acres Park, a Leeds
Corporation garden, which we were to visit, were
allowed to cascade down rocks and wander over
paths.

* Mr. Richards contributes a shortened version of his
talk on pp. 26-29 of this Year Book.

YEAR BOOK 1987

While on our way to the park we were to surprise two
unsuspecting gardeners with a visit. Twenty four hours
earlier Mr. and Mrs. Ellis had not known of the Heather
Society when Pamela Lee had asked them if we could
stop and admire their garden. It was a delightful small
front garden, planted eight years ago with heathers, a
splendid Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia and my
favourite confider, Abies koreana, as focal points.
The use of large cobble stones in a tiny scree garden was
very effective. The lawn was immaculate, but a coach
load of admirers could have done it no good at all! The
next two hours were spent happily in the park in bright
sunshine eating our packed lunches and admiring Mr.
Knight’s plantings. The many Sorbus were particularly
good with their fruits of pink, white and red.

On then to Harewood House with a garden tour
conducted by Mr. Jenkins.Gardeners, like policemen,get
younger and Mr. Jenkins was no exception. He also has
to do spells of duty in the shop and garden centre. A few
of the members opted to tour the house, and one
succumbed to the heat (yes, really) to snooze in the
coach. The gardens were really past their summer flush,
but a gorgeous Eucryphia stood in full bloom. There was
a tantalising sight of peaches and grapes in the
greenhouses, fully ripe and destined for the house, and
outside an amazing variety of Hostas. Until recently the
rock garden had been neglected with willow herb six feet
high, so it was cleared with chemical weedkillers and
then replanted. A quick dash round the garden centre
and shop ended a very pleasant afternoon.

Saturday evening question time after dinner was
lively with discussions ranging from how to deal with
Honey Fungus to what justifies giving a name to a new

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

heather. Mr. McClintock stressed that we should con-
sider not just e.g. anew colour but other distinctions such
as height, length of flowering time, hardiness, freedom
from disease, garden worthiness etc. He brought from
Sweden a delightful mini-calluna ‘Minioxaback’ just
right for a sink garden. Heath-loving plants like crow-
berry (Empetrum nigrum), cowberry (vaccinium vitis-
idaea), cranberry (V. oxycoccos) and Arctostaphylos
Species were produced and examined.

After the A.G.M. on Sunday morning, conducted so
smoothly by our Chairman, Mr. McClintock, in the
absence of Mr. Yates due to indisposition, led a discus-
sion on Daboecia. It was lively — everyone has their
favourites. Next to enthrall us was Mr. C. Margrave with
a potted history, and the aims, of Harlow Car, the
yorthern Horticultural Society's garden. In spite of
catering for 70,000 visitors in a good year with the
resulting wear and tear, they maintain three National
Collections of Hypericum, rhubarb and heathers. There
were trials of old vegetables for the Henry Doubleday
organisation, a collection of roses for the R.N.R:S. trials
of annuals for Flora-Select and of Delphiniums, and the
northern reference collection of E. carnea and £E.x
darleyensis. It makes a daunting tasks, with just a few
gardeners, and trainees from the Y.T.S., We were to see
all these collections when, after an excellent lunch and
the annual jostling for space for the group photograph
(why is it there is always someone missing?) ,we boarded
our coach for Harrogate and Harlow Car.

The old Heather Trials ground came first, plastic
bags at the ready. How sad it looked after seeing it tin all

10

YEAR BOOK 1987

its glory a few years ago. Elderly plants, lots of plants
dead and hardly a label to be seen. Some of the more
hardy plants persisted and were a blaze of colour. We
toured the rest of the gardens, and many a heather label
was carefully scrutinised, and in some cases corrected,
by the experts. Mr. Julian, a member to whom we owe so
much for his hard work, galloped a few of us up a hill for
an inspection of the new Calluna collection planting. A
large rectangle, cut from a meadow on a wind-swept site,
divided into four beds which housed four plants of each
cultivar. Some were flowering, although tiny, and surviv-
ing there will surely earn them the title hardy. Another
lovely afternoon’s outing and we all felt we would like to
linger, but dinner awaited us.

Our first Sunday evening speaker was Dr. Griffiths
who showed us some of the results of his hybridisation
(see p. 42).After explaining his methods we were shown
his plants (who but a botanist’s wife would tolerate
plastic bags over the plants to prevent bee pollination).
E. manipuliflora x E. vagans produced differing
offspring, e.g. a pink flowered, a paler pink and a dumpy
plant. E. ciliaris x E. tetralix has produced a white
hybrid, and Dr. Griffiths insists he is going on trying.

Mr. Mason, Garden Manager or Head Gardener at
Harewood House, then arrived, late, having dashed
from Cardiff. Our original seating arrangements were
inconvenient for viewing his slides and the resulting
movements and hilarity set the scene for Mr. Mason’s
humorous account of his career as a gardener and his
efforts to tum his own garden into a show piece.

The Conference ended with Maj.-Gen. Turpin

11

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

bidding us farewell for another year and adding it had
been a happy conference. It had, we all agreed. Dr.
Barraclough and his wife had done a splendid job of
organising. We had a mixture for the expert and the
amateur, and time to chat. Do try and come to a
conference one year, you will be welcomed. Like me,
definitely amateur, you might learn something new, and
if you are reading this you must be, like David my
husband and me, hooked on heathers.

Heather moorlands: origins,

management and recent changes
Dr. Richard Smith, School of Geography,
University of Leeds.

The local dominance of members of the Ericaceae in
heath and moorland areas, while reflecting the ecolog-
ical tolerances of this group, has depended also on the
history of land use. One has to realise that landscapes
associated with heath species, whether in the Ashdown
Forest, the Llandegla Moors or even the Isle of Rhum,
interspersed as they may be with grasses, sedges, moss
and limited tree growth, always represent some degree of
human impact and are no more natural in concept than is
agricultural land. Furthermore, while some areas
dominated by common ling are far more extensive now
than at any previous time, other areas are in a state of
decline or, as in some lowland heaths, at risk of scrub
encroachment unless active management is pursued. If
we go back in time, we have almost certainly to visualise
a different structure in moorland plant communities than
we see today because of the different use made of

12

YEAR BOOK 1987

Common land in former times. However, we can be
fairly sure from place name evidence that heather-
dominated communities have been widespread, or
provided notable local features, from early mediaeval
times. Names such as Lingfield and Malham Lings
utilise the original Norse name; many incorporate the
element ‘heath’ while others such as ‘Black’ moor carry
the allusion of heather dominance.

But when did moorlands first come about, and have
heath plants always been in Britain? The second
question can be answered by saying that, apart from the
extreme south and the Atlantic littorals, all remaining
areas of the British Isles would have witnessed a re-
invasion of the different indigenous heath plants some
12,000 years ago from the cold steppe land that
extended part way to the Mediterranean. Thus
Empetrum (crowberry), Calluna and the Ericas,
together with the various species of Vaccinium, are all
present very early on in what was an open landscape of
low shrub growth with willow, dwarf birch, juniper and
other species. This situation was destined to alter rapidly
as birch and other trees formed forests throughout
Britain from about 10,000 years ago. Although these
forests never completely covered the mountainous and
most exposed areas they did lead to a severe restriction
of the previous open habitat flora while introducing
many changes in plant and animal life to which human
hunting parties became attracted.

It is probably to the use of fire by Mesolithic human
cultures that we owe the origin of our first moorland
landscapes; such was the case on Dartmoor, the North
Yorks Moors and other areas. But this is not to say that
once cleared of forest the trees never returned — in many

13

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

moorland areas there is evidence of subsequent re-
growth which simply reflected the changing human
pressures. Clearance of forest resulted from the need for
firewood and construction timber, while ground actually
cleared by fire subsequently provided excellent browse
for populations of deer and other animals. Some, such as
the aurochs may have begun their domesticated
existence by first being attracted to and then being
corralled within such areas. But forest destruction was
an opportunity for many herbs and low shrubs to re-
invade, among which the heaths were for a long time a
very minor component. Forest clearance was a major
factor contributing to the formation of peat which, in
consequence, now buries not only former relics of the old
woodlands, but the artefacts of cultures responsible for
their decline. The early moors were then much wetter,
even semi-aquatic, environments, and did not present
the relatively firm terrain we know today. A factor
which aided and abetted this wetness was the
increasingly maritime humid climate of Britain as sea
level rose to reach its present level around 5000
years ago.

From 3000 BC onwards there was a more sustained
attack on woodland resources with the spread of settled
agriculture and the formalised land divisions that accom-
panied it. Pollen records in peats indicate a particularly
marked rise in ericaceous pollen from the Bronze and
Iron Ages when, as a consequence of widespread land
clearance and agricultural exploitation, soil conditions
are believed to have deteriorated. There seems little
doubt that many areas have seen a continuity of
moorlands, well represented by heath species, from the
Bronze Age, despite periodic minor tree invasions. The
moorland bogs of the Bronze and Iron Ages were, ifnot
becoming modified by man’s activities, drier and more

14

YEAR BOOK 1987

amenable to the spread of heathers than earlier because
the peat ecosystems had become more elevated from the
direct influence of flooding or ground water.

The Roman period was notable for its forest
consumption, often for the purpose of mineral smelting,
while the creation of routes and improvement of pre-
existing prehistoric straight tracks exercised further
influence on the fragmentation of landscapes. Intensive
agricultural exploitation for the legions was followed by
agricultural land abandonment on departure, which
almost certainly was a stimulus to the advance of
heathers; and it would appear that this kind of periodic
land use change has been a key factor in maintaining the
heathers throughout historical times.

From medieval times heath and moorland becomes
Synonymous with “the commons’, a status it may long
have endured, for with this concept goes the idea of no
particular form of management beyond limiting the
rights of individuals to its use. Indeed many examples of
heath have arisen because laws governing the exploita-
tion of forests gradually fell into abeyance —
particularly so around the period of the great plagues.
Our upland moorlands have in very general terms passed
from being parts of tribal homelands to the large estates
of manors and subsequent owners. The medieval use of
the uplands by the Cistercian monks was but one phase
in their long history of exploitation.

As the Industrial Revolution gained momentum
parts of the wilderness were taken into more intensive
use and became part of the general pattern of enclosure.
In the 18th and 19th centuries many small holdings thus
developed, a proportion of which was related to extrac-

15

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

tive industries such as lead mining, and when the latter,
together with cottage textiles, declined towards the end
of last century the farms themselves could no longer pro-
vide an adequate income, leading to ultimate abandon-
ment. More and more uplands areas thus became
absorbed once again into large estates whose interests
were in grouse and sheep. These large estates undertook
drainage and burning to promote heather. Burning
encourages germination of young heather from dormant
seed and new growth from the base of old stems, and this
is best carried out every 8-12 years. If the age of the
heather gets too advanced, recovery takes much longer,
not least because with a larger amount of combustible
material the fires may burn hotter and longer, destroying
roots and the seed bank.

However, changes over the last century, including
those just mentioned, have also led to the expansion of
species which threaten heathers and, indeed, the produc-
tive use of moorlands. Bracken has expanded
enormously on account of its invasion of drained and
burned terrain, its relative unpalatability and the fact
that it is no longer controlled by cutting for animal
bedding, or trampled by heavier farm animals. A
consequence of this spread of bracken is the reduction of
available good grazing land on the valley sides where its
infestations are greatest. The heather moors have
therefore been under heavier grazing attack and it seems
likely that the expansion of species like crowberry
(Empetrum) and mat grass (Nardus) reflects an exhaus-
tion of the more palatable species. This process is partly,
then, a matter of restricted good grazing area and partly
the selective preferences of sheep., But it is also worth
commenting that the numbers of sheep actually grazing
have fluctuated a great deal and at certain times have

16

YEAR BOOK 1987

undoubtedly been excessive, such as during wartime. It
is also difficult to regulate the grazing in a ‘commons’
situation, even if one could persuade the farmer of the
consequences of his actions.

Many of our heather moorlands have in fact been ina
precarious state of management since the Second World
War. Various factors account for this but notably the
decline in numbers of gamekeepers and the overall costs
of running grouse moors. Without the easy access to
labour it is more difficult to respond to the relatively few
ideal occasions for moor burning in the course of the
Autumn to Spring periods permitted. The result has been
a backlog of burning which can only be overcome now by
making very large burns on each occasion. These are
quite unsuitable for the nesting and feeding behaviour of
grouse, while running the risk of initiating erosion. The
large amount of over-age heather also presents a con-
siderable fire risk in dry summers as the destructive fires
of 1976 demonstrated.

But perhaps even greater threats to moorland lie
ahead, for as a period of agricultural decline becomes
more established, further forestry schemes seem sure to
proceed. While this could be regarded merely as a return
to trees after several thousand years of moorland, we are
mainly involved with exotic species of conifer which are
capable of exploiting wet sites and peaty terrain as well
as the better, sloping, land. We must hope that if such
developments do take place on a large scale we can
preserve some large areas of open vistas while accepting
that, if planned in an ecologically responsible way, new
forests could introduce a greater diversity of wildlife
over large areas which have at present very restricted
plant and animal populations.

17

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Extract from Linnaeus’s Oland and Gotland J ourney
1741, as translated in Biological Journal of the Lin-

nean Society for June 1983, p.190.

August 15th.

“Heather [The District Governor, General-
Lieutenant Anders Koskull] told us is good for sheep,
but the heather is trampled down by the sheep and is
destroyed by their dung, which is very probable if the
sheep are in too great abundance. In Skane we have seen
heaths being burned every third year, in order to provide
the sheep and cattle with tender heather’.

Stellate Cross-leaved Heaths

David McClintock, Platt, Kent.

Cross-leaved Heath typically has its flowers in drooping
umbels. From time to time one comes across plants in
which they are held horizontally or even somewhat
erect, and the corollas tend to be, or look, narrower.

Two of these have been propagated as cultivars. The
first was the Letts’ ‘Pink Star’, which they found “‘in a
roadside field in Cornwall’. I have a note, source
untraced, that it was known by 1963; but the name
appears first in print, so far as I know, in John Letts’s
Handbook of August 1966, page 102. There are
coloured illustrations of it in Harry van de Laar’s
Heather Garden of 1978, plate 9, in Geoffrey Yates’
Gardener’s Book of Heathers of 1985, p.128, and
opposite p.24 of the 1986 revised Wisley Handbook:
Heaths and Heathers.

18

YEAR BOOK 1987

The second is “‘Helma’, called after Rinus Zwijnen-
burg’s daughter. He saw it in 1965 on the Kampina
Heath between Boxtel and Tilburg, and started to dis-
tribute it two years later. Its flowers are said to be paler
and the plants to grow taller. It received a silver medal in
Holland in 1968. You can see its depiction in colour in
the Proudleys’ Heathers in Colour of 1974 plate 50; in
Harry van de Laar’s Heather Garden of 1978, plate 8
and in the Heidelexicon produced by the German
Gesellschaft der Heidefreunde in 1984.

Hugh Nicholson had a variegated sport on ‘Helma’ in
his garden in 1981, which has since been grown on by
Ray Warner at Barncroft Nurseries. As a result of
propagating from variegated parts of successive plants,
he tells me, Ray seems to be getting an increase in colour
of the cream/pink new growth. But so far it lacks a
name.

In addition to the above, I have in the herbarium here
samples of this form from half a dozen places in England
and Ireland, but it does not always show clearly on
pressed plants. Fresh it is unmistakable.

With all these occurrences — and I have not
specially searched other herbaria, a botanical name is
clearly needed to cover this distinct form. So, Erica
tetralix f. stellata was formally published for it in 1986
in Acta Horticulturae, No. 182, p.283 with the simple
note “ typo differt floribus horizontalibus vel erectis’’,
in a paper I had read mentioning this in August 1985
during the first International symposium on taxonomy of
cultivated plants at Wageningen. A gathering of ‘Pink
Star’ at Harlow Car on 7 August 1974 is the type.

19

THE HEATHER SOCIETY
The Silver-leaved Forms of Calluna.

Maj.-Gen. P. G. Turpin, West Clandon, Surrey.

(By an odd coincidence, at the same time as this article
was being written, Mr. H. Blum published a similar
account of Callunas with silver-coloured or grey leaves
in the Dutch periodical Evicultura (No 59). There was
no collusion between the two writers, but, obviously,
they relied to a great extent on the same sources.)

In Calluna, a monograph on the Scotch Heather
(1940) Dr. W. Beijerinck described the various forms
and sub-forms of Calluna vulgaris, which were known
to him. He placed them in two groups: var. genuina and
var. hirsuta. The epithet genuina, meaning ‘authentic’,
was first used in 1843 by Regel to describe the typical
form of Calluna vulgaris; and Waitz used the word
hirsuta in 1805 to distinguish the form with hairy stems
and leaves. Beijerinck quoted tomentosa, pubescens,
ciliaris and incana as synonyms of hirsuta. Under the
heading var. hirsuta he listed only nine forms or sub-
forms: typica, pilosa, lutescens, compressa, albifiora,
pallens, Alporti , coccinea, and Bealeae. All the rest he
placed in the variety genuina. Some of these epithets
have been retained as cultivar names, e.g. “‘Coccinea’. It
is surprising that Beijerinck included lutescens (for
which he quoted ‘Strlei Aurea’ as an example, although
he placed ‘Serlei Alba’ under var. genuina). Nor could
Alportii or Bealeae really be classed as “hairy”
forms of Calluna. .

The silvery appearance of this variety of Calluna is

due to the multitude of hairs which clothe the leaves and
stems of the plants and reflect the bright light rays. For

20

YEAR BOOK 1987

the same reason many of them look lank and dowdy in
dull and wet weather.

The cultivars of silver-leaved Callunas which are
grown today can be grouped in a number of ways. Some
have mauve or lilac-coloured flowers. Some have white
ones. Some have foliage which is distinctly silver in
appearance, while others are more grey-green in colour.
Habit varies from tall erect plants to spreading and dwarf
Varieties.

By its very name Calluna vulgaris ‘Hirsuta Typica’
can claim to be typical of the tall silvery group with
mauve flowers. It is a vigorous grower and makes a tall
thick bush with many side-shoots. It retains the colour of
its silver foliage well throughout the year. The mauve
flowers (H2) are well shown off by the foliage. Many _
claim that this is still the best of its group. It is reputed to
have come from Morayshire, but similar plants are not
uncommon elsewhere in the wild. Good silver-leaved
forms can be found on Wisley Common. It was given an
Award of Merit in 1962 and a First Class Certificate
in 1964.

“Silver Queen’ is so similar to ‘Hirsuta Typica’ that
it is often difficult to tell them apart. The growth is
similar. Perhaps the flowers are a little more lavender
(H3). The foliage appears to suffer more in wet
weather.

‘Jan Dekker’, a Dutch introduction in 1974, does
not grow as tall as the last two cultivars, but is equally
vigorous. It is more spreading, with many side-shoots
and the foliage is rather more grey The mauve flowers
are slightly darker than those of ‘Hirsuta Typica’.

21

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Other cultivars which are similar, but with no
particular distinction, are ‘ Parson’s Grey Selected’ and
‘Dart’s Silver Rocket’, with grey-green foliage.

‘Silver Stream’, which is well named, has a character
of its own. Although a tall and vigorous plant, it has a
tendency to spread sideways and even to trail. The
flowers are similar in colour to those of “Silver Queen’. It
appeared as a seedling in Mrs. Cowan’s garden, near
Farnham, and was introduced by Primrose Hill
Nursery, Haslemere.

‘Dart’s Squirrel’, which has reddish tips to its foliage
in spring, was introduced by Darthuizer’s Nursery in
1976 and ‘Grizzly’, which is said to be similar to ‘Serlei
Rubra’, belong to this group. So too does another recent
Dutch introduction, found by S. Ketelaar as a seedling
and named ‘Stranger’ in 1983. It is described as having
light grey foliage with yellowish tints in the spring, with a
distinctly silvery appearance.

The next group consists of cultivars which are not
quite so tall, but have an erect habit. ‘Silver Knight’ is
typical of this group. It produces long spikes of silvery
foliage with very few side-shoots. The colour of the
flowers, which are lavender-mauve (H3) complements
the silvery grey of the leaves.

“Oxshott Common’ has a similar erect habit and can
grow to more than two feet tall. It makes a very effective
group in the middle of an island bed. The flowers, which
are borne very freely, are the same colour as those of
‘Silver Knight’ (H3).

To these we can add the late-flowering ‘Olive

22

YEAR BOOK 1987

Cowan’, which has a similar habit of growth and the
same coloured flowers. It was introduced by the late Mr.
J. W. Archer.

A trio of upright-growing cultivars which make a
particular appeal by the soft blending of the flower-
colour with the grey foliage are ‘Silver Rose’, ‘Silver
Sandra’ and ‘Spook’. When well grown ‘Silver Rose’ has
an almost ethereal quality, the rose-coloured flowers
adding a misty sheen to the silvery foliage. ‘Silver
Sandra’ has paler flowers but makes a delightful effect
with its delicate grey foliage. “Spook’ is a fairly recent
introduction, with long graceful flower spikes, similar in
growth to the other two, but giving an overall pink effect
when planted in large groups.

*Coccinea’, an old cultivar, has the darkest flowers of
all the grey-leaved varieites (H10). It makes a neat |
mound in which the purple flowers contrast well with the
silvery foliage.

Among the semi-prostrate forms are ‘Silver Cloud’,
‘Glendoick Silver and ‘Grey Carpet’. These all have a
tendency to produce numerous side shoots, which give
the plants a spreading habit. In an open position they will
carpet the ground, but if grown close to other plants and
given their head they will lose some of their prostrate
habit. Their flower colour is H3.

‘Grijsje’ is a recent introduction from Holland, found
as a seedling by A. Bosch of Westerlee, with a similar
compact and spreading habit.

_ The true prostrate forms have, in the past, been
described as hirsuta compressa - or hirsuta compacta.

23

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

‘Sister Anne’ and ‘Dainty Bess’ are the two best
examples of this group. The former was found on the
Lizard, where constant wind and wild weather have
compelled the heather to adopt a compact ground-
hugging form, in order to survive. “Dainty Bess’
originated in the United States. Both are fairly
floriferous with flowers coloured H2. ‘Sister Anne’
is inclined to be the more vigorous and will, in time, form
a hummock up to 2 feet in diameter. Other compact
forms are ‘Chindit’, ‘Bess Junior and ‘Pewter Plate’.

Although most of the silver-leaved Callunas have
mauve flowers, there are some half-dozen named
varieties with white flowers. The best of these, for its
silver effect, is ‘Beoley Silver’, which has more brilliant
silver foliage than any otherCalluna. {t is of medium
height with branching stems. The flowers and leaves,
being almost the same colour, blend together in a sheet of
white. When in full flower it is often difficult to distingish
between the flowers and the leaves.

*Hirsuta Albiflora’ is an old cultivar, which still holds
its place. The foliage is more grey-green than silver. It is
a tall-growing cultivar with long spikes and is most effec-
tive in large groupings. “Tomentosa Alba’ is another old
cultivar, which is not often seen nowadays. Its
description suggests that it is very similar to the last-
named.

Two comparatively recent introductions, ‘Anthony
Davis’ and ‘Alison Yates’ have a similar habit and are
vigorous growers. They are both first-class plants with
little to choose between them. ‘Anthony Davis’ is a great
favourite of flower-arrangers. These two have tended to
displace an older cultivar, which used to be popular,
“White Gown’, which is a tall vigorous plant. It tends to

24

YEAR BOOK 1987

become straggly, unless it is carefully pruned.

A recent introduction from Holland, a white sport on
‘Silver Knight, named ‘Velvet Fascination’, has the
same habit as its parent, but with white flowers. It was
found in the Hoekert nursery at Oldebroek and
named in 1983.

‘Snowflake’ is a low-growing compact cultivar with
grey-green leaves and white flowers, recently introduced
from the United States.

Finally, two cultivars, ‘Silver King and ‘Silver
Spire’ bely their names. They were so called not because
of the colour of their foliage, but because of the silvery
appearance of their long flower spikes. They do not
belong to the variety hirsuta.

A note of caution. All the cultivars mentioned, like
other heathers, may modify their habit, depending on the
particular environment in which they are growing. Some
will flourish in one set of conditions, where others will do
less well. The descriptions given here may have to be
modified as a result of the different circumstances under
which they are grown.

25

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

From Wilderness to Heather
Garden
Don Richards, Eskdale, Cumbria

One evening the local farmer proposed to my
neighbour and myself, that we should buy the land at the
back of our houses. It was steep and rocky, and was
covered with an impenetrable jungle, mostly gorse,
brambles and bracken. As he said, it was completely
useless, but if we did not buy it, he would put a row of pig-
sties outside our windows. After a few hours of mostly
good humoured argument, I bought my share, some two
and a half acres for £149.

We are quite close to the centre of Eskdale Green
village, and for many years before the council collected
refuse, locals would go as far as possible and throw their
rubbish in. One medallion I found, the size of a milk
bottle top, was “‘to commemorate the third time in 3
years failure to obtain the abolition of the Common-
wealth and Trust Act’. This dates from the Cromwellian
period when Catholics and Nonconformists were barred
by the Act from Parliament; only Church of England
were allowed entry ... but fancy commemorating a
third failure!

I have never found much spare time, but it is good
therapy after the hassle and frustration of business to
indulge in heavy physical labour. My usual tools were
mattock, for digging up trees and bushes, and crowbar,
for shifting rocks. Bedrock usually looks right, fortunate-
ly, but loose boulders have to be levered about until they

26

YEAR BOOK 1987

look right. There was a “spring’’, actually the open end
of a land-drain, and other features that showed promise,
but for some time I dared not admit that I was going to try
to make a garden of it ... probably it would prove imposs-
ible ... no-one could ever dig it!

After clearing I used Paraquat weedkiller wholesale
... With a dribble bar quite large areas can be covered
quickly. Even later, planted up with heather, they can be
moved to one side with an ordinary fire shovel and
weeds underneath killed. The only plants not killed are
mosses, and they soon formed a most agreeable ground
cover. Nowadays I use Roundup (Tumbleweed) for the
first clearance, which usually kills green bracken with
only one application.

Testing showed a pH over most of it around 4.5,
ideal for heathers, and I planted up some beds near the
house. There were some failures, especially 24 Erica
cinerea ‘C. D. Eason’. I found that under the surface
there were tons of old plaster rubble from houses
damaged in the war. Also the “spring” was strongly
alkaline. Farmers treat all the land drains with lime to
keep them free-running.

There is far more rock than soil, and the rock is
granite. We tend to look on rock as inert, but granite con-
tains all the elements plants need for growth, except
nitrogen, and that comes in sufficient quantity for
heathers in thunderstorms.

We argue whether or not to use fertilizers. If one gar-
dens on silica sand, like the Dorset Heath we saw in
1979, then the answer must be “yes’’, and the nursery-
man can get bigger reliable plants more quickly, but I

27

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

never use any on my heathers outside. Well-fed heathers
reach maturity, and old age, more quickly. Nitrogen
especially reduces the proportion of flower to leaf and
also leaves stems more vulnerable to frost, and they
split.

With a large area and limited resources, shrubs and
trees were grown from seed. RHS seed distribution pro-
vided five different Rhododendron species, and a packet
of seed from Suttons nearly 100 Exbury hybrid Azaleas.
There are also such interesting specimens as
Callistemon (Bottle-brush), Ginkgo, etc. Friends also
gave me cuttings, and some came from trips abroad.

As it matured, the effect was quite gratifying, not
least because the wild life found it much more attractive
than the old jungle. Of septiles there are frogs, toads,
newts, lizards, slow-worms and adders. The bird popula-
tion is very varied, but strangely we seldom see a house
sparrow. A buzzard sometimes surveys the scene from
one of my trees. Deer are beautiful, but evil, and eat to
damage rather than from hunger. Six new Camellias
were quickly destroyed, the leaves eaten and the stems
chewed but an old Camelia some 12 feet high is rarely
touched. My next big job is a deer-fence.

With such a variety of heather planted, the most
common weeds now are heathers. The vast majority are
rubbish, but every year one or two are of sufficient merit
to propagate. The moist atmosphere of Lakeland, and
sharp drainage particularly, suits the Daboecias, and
their sticky foliage make them unpalatable to deer. A
white (‘Early Bride’) showed blooms in every month of
one year. )

I find a clear red particularly attractive, and was

28

YEAR BOOK 1987

growing on six red E. cinerea plants. One was selected
by Geoff Yates and named in honour of John Ardron.
This was particularly apt because when we were
wandering in the Pyrenees he said he hoped to find a
good red.

If any of you find yourself in this area, you are
welcome to enjoy my jungle with me.

kKkkkk

Heather in Ontario
Barrie Porteous, Agincourt, Ontario.

After emigrating to Canada in 1968 I settled in
Toronto and, over the years, gradually developed an
interest in gardening. In 1970 I purchased some
lakefront property 100 miles north of the city and, after
clearing out the bush, was able to establish a garden
there. Contrary to popular opinion Toronto is blessed
with a benign climate and residents enjoy warm cloud-
less days, if not all year, then at least for one or two
months during the summer. The climatic conditions at
the garden up north are a very different matter. Winter
temperatures, almost without exception, will drop to -
35° to-40°F for several days at a time and-25° to-35°F
for several weeks throughout January and February.
While this excludes the cultivation of dates and bananas,
so common in Toronto, there are some advantages.
Snow cover generally starts in mid November, averages
12 - 36 inches, and then departs in mid to late April as
temperatures increase. In this, the winter of 85/86, we
have had very unusual conditions with over 60 inches of
snow. As a result there will likely be very little die-back
and a good display of bloom should be guaranteed. In
other winters, however, we have had as little as 6 inches

29

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

of snow by mid-February and, although no plants have
been lost, there has been considerable damage. Rainfall
throughout the summer and fall is sufficient to eliminate
the need to water and summer temperatures rarely
exceed 80°F. The soil is sandy, low in humus, with a pH
of 5.5 to 6.0. Allin all, with the exception of winter lows,
conditions are fairly conducive to the growing of
heather.

Having decided that heather could be grown at the
cottage, in spite of all the advice of local experts, many of
whom had never seen a heather, one problem remained
— where to get them? With the exception of Erica
carnea ‘Springwood White’ and ‘Springwood Pink’, I
could find no nurseries who carried plants. I eventually
did locate a speciality nursery in the Niagara Peninsula.
However, most of my 300 plants have had to be flown in
from the west coasts of both Canada and the United
States. Since this involves some cost, a fact which has
not escaped my wife’s eagle eye, I do take some
precautions in order to get the plants through the winter.
This generally involves the application of a generous
mulch of pine needles, particularly around the taller
growing varieties. While this effectively raises the height
of the snow cover, some plants are still exposed for much
of the winter. Fortunately they are mainly fall blooming
varieties which benefit from the “pruning’’. While I have
not lost a single plant to winter cold, sooner or later there
will be an early cold snap before there has been much
accumulation of snow. The results should be interesting
although, based on my experience to date, I am sure that
many of the Calluna vulgaris, Erica carnea, E. tetralix
and E. vagans will come through without a great deal of
trouble. I expect that more plants are lost in the winter
due to desiccation caused by exposure to sun and wind,

30

YEAR BOOK 1987

than to just too cold temperatures. Those that I have
grown successfully, some for as long as five years,
are

Calluna vulgaris

‘Alba Plena’ ‘Gold Haze’ ‘Radnor
‘Alportii’ - ‘H. E. Beale’ “Red Wing’
‘Aurea’ ‘Humpty Dumpty’ ‘Robert Chapman’
“‘Beoley Gold’ “Kinlochruel’ ‘Rosalind’
‘Blazeaway’ “Kuphaldtii’ ‘Serlei’
‘California Midge’ ‘Lyndon Proudley’ ‘Serlei Aurea’
‘Cuprea’ ‘Martha Hermann’ ‘Sister Anne’
‘County Wicklow’ ‘Mousehole’ ‘Sunset’
‘Dainty Bess’ ‘Mrs. Pat’ ‘Tib’

‘Dainty Bess ‘Mrs Ronald Gray *‘Tom Thumb’
Junior ‘ *Mullion’ *“Underwoodii’
‘Elsie Purnell’ ‘Peter Sparkes’ ‘Valorian’
“Foxhollow ‘Pygmaea’ “White Lawn’
Wanderer
‘“Foxii Nana’

‘Gold Flame’

Erica carnea
‘Ann Sparkes’ ‘Pink Spangles’ ‘Springwood Pink’

‘Aurea’ ‘Pirbright Rose’ ‘Springwood White’
‘Eileen Porter “Ruby Glow ‘Vivellir’
“King George’

Erica cinerea

‘Atrorubens’ “Coccinea’ “Golden Drop’
“Cevennes’ ‘Eden Valley’

Erica x darleyensis
*Furzey’ “George Rendall ‘Silberschmelze’

Erica tetralix
“Alba Praecox’

31

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Erica vagans
‘Birch Glow’ ‘Mrs D. F. ‘St Keverne’
Maxwell’

Erica x watsonii
‘Dawn’

Rather than simply growing heathers wherever I
have space,] have attempted to combine them with other
plants to give a mosaic of colour and texture. Bearing in
mind that hardiness is a potential problem and that large
shrubs cannot be protected above the snow line the
following evergreens have proved attractive both
amongst, and as a backdrop for the heather.

Yellow
Various Chamaecyparis obtusa and pisifera, selec-
ted Thujas and Taxus baccata ‘Aurea’.

Blue

Abies concolor, A. lasiocarpa ‘Compacta’,
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Boulevard’, Picea pungens
‘Hoopsii’ and ‘Montgomery’.

Green
Various Chamaecyparis, Pinus, Thuja and
Tsuga.

It may well be that one year an early cold snap will
cause considerable damage or perhaps even substantial
losses, however, I doubt that this will happen. I know
that every winter it is going to get very cold and as a
result I take steps to protect the plants. Gardeners in
milder climates generally base their levels of protection
on the average winter temperatures, not on the lows
which occur perhaps once in every five, ten or even

32

YEAR BOOK 1987

twenty years. As a result, borderline hardy plants will
not survive, as was the case just last winter when a severe
cold snap struck southern England, an area reputed to
have an even milder climate than Toronto. However,
that is not really the point. The idea of gardening is to
have fun and that, when my wife allows, is exactly what I
am having.

kKkkk

Heathers in New Zealand
Cynthia Aston, Taumaruni, New Zealand

New Zealand has no indigenous heaths or heathers
(Calluna, Erica or Daboecia), though other Ericaceous
genera such as Gaultheria and Pernettya, and of the
related Epacridaceae Cyathodes and Draco-phyllum
are well represented throughout the country and form a
Significant part, particularly of the subalpine and
-scrubland communities.

This country is well-known for the ease with which
exotic plants naturalise and displace the native flora.
This is true of heaths, particularly the following
species.

Erica lusitanica, known here as Spanish Heath, has

become a Serious problem in many districts. An intrigu-
ing story traces its spread from dried-up flowers in the
cemetery at Picton, at the extreme northern end of the
South Island. It first appeared on the denuded soils of
Queen Charlotte Sound, then spread across Cook Strait
to Wellington, and thence north, to become a declared
noxious weed in many North Island districts. It seems
less widespread in the South. I can remember as a small
girl in Wellington, in about 1930, seeing a few plants

33

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

growing among gorse. It is not mentioned in Cheese-
man’s list of introduced plants (early 1900’s), so must be
a relatively late introduction. It is a beautiful shrub and
useful to bee-keepers because of its very early flowering,
though the bees prefer to work it when the flowers are
starting to brown off.

Not far from where I live, on the plains surrounding
the great volcanoes Ruapehu, Tongariro and
Ngauruhoe, is a vast area of Scottish heather (Calluna
vulgaris) with smaller areas of Bell-Heather (Erica
cinerea). These were certainly firmly established by the
early 1900’s and are listed by Cheeseman. It is
regrettable that they have largely crowded out the very
interesting native communities of subalpine shrubs and
ground orchids, though the flower display in late summer
is lovely. White forms cf both species are quite common.
Bee-keepers sometimes move their hives to this region,
to take advantage of the late honey flow. The Calluna
particularly has spread out of its original locality to some
extent, but much less so than the Spanish heath, pro-
bably because it is less adaptable to varying soils and
climate.

At least two Cape Heaths have also become
naturalised in New Zealand. A beautiful pink species
(Erica baccans) has for many years grown on poor soils
round Dargaville in the sub-tropical far north, turning
the hills bright pink when in flower. Its origin seems
rather obscure. One source traces it to “Scotch
heather’, both pink and white, which was planted by a
Te Kopuru farmer's wife last century. I feel this may
have been confused with another introduction crédited
to a Turkish gum digger who grew the heath by his shack
on Turkey Flat Road. It seems unlikely that the Scottish

34

YEAR BOOK 1987

plant would have survived in the warm coastal climate of
Te Kopuru. On the other hand the early gum-diggers
were a pretty cosmospolitan lot, and it is quite possible
that Erica baccans could have been introduced by the
old Turk.

There is, or was, also a vigorous Cape Heath with
tubular greenish white flowers which grew on dry clay
hills around Eastbourne near Wellington. Possibly there
are other “‘escapes”’ in the way of Cape Heaths in other
parts of New Zealand.

As for garden cultivation of heathers in this country,
I should say that they are one of the most widely
cultivated groups of plants. For a small country we have
an extremely wide variety of soil and climate, and there
seem to be heaths to suit each one. Garden centres stock
them in large numbers, probably because of the ease
with which nurseries can mist-propagate them from cut-
tings. They are popular plants for small gardens because
they give immediate colour and most of them do not
outgrow their space too quickly.

The Callunas and European Ericas do well in South
Island, and in the North Island as far north as the
Waikato district. The foliage forms of Calluna colour
particularly well in Canterbury, due to a dry climate and
cold winters. Districts with limestone rocks seem to be
less limited to the lime-tolerant E. carnea types than
might be expected. This may be due to the happy
paradox which gives some such districts limestone rocks
without much “free’’ lime, and consequently neutral
soils, or in the case of soils formed from areas of bush,
even Slightly acid. In Masterton in the Wairarapa dis-
trict, for instance, I have seen magnificent plants of the

35

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Cape Heath E. canaliculata. Throughout the Auckland
area and in the Northland, Cape Heaths grow well
wherever the drainage is good. The beautiful yellow E.
cavendishiana grows excellently in Kaikohe.

The Daboecias for some reason are less widely
grown. They perhaps do not make the mass of colour
when in flower that the hardy Ericas and Callunas pro-
duce, but I like their almost ever-blooming habit. In my
garden they self-sow almost too freely. I grow D. cantab-
rica f. alba, and ‘Praegerae’ and D. x scotica
“William Buchanan’.

The Taumarunui area where I garden is extremely
Sheltered from wind as it lies in a natural hollow. The
humidity is high, the rainfall heavy and spread fairly
evenly over the year, the winters short but cold and the
summers often extremely hot. Fortunately our volcanic
soil is free-draining. All the hardy heaths grow well. My
plant of E. x darleyensis is nearly forty years old, about
three metres in diameter and has built up into a dense
mattress one metre thick. Every year it has to be curbed
with a spade round the edges. The coloured Callunas like
‘Blazeaway do not colour well with me, too much wet I
suppose. The double forms such as ‘H. E. Beale’ and
*Kinlochruel’, and ‘Darkness’ are good value. Probably
the best show of flowers is from the E. vagans ‘Mrs D. F.
Maxwell’ and ‘Lyonesse’.

Even some of the Cape Heaths will grow here, where
one can find a suitable micro-climate, good drainage and
probably a bit of luck with the season. Our out-of-season
frosts, particularly following on a wet spell, can be
devastating. The Cape Heaths tend here to be short-
lived, but some I have grown with reasonable success are

36

YEAR BOOK 1987

E. oatesii ‘Winter Gem’, E. verticillata, E. parkeri (»),
E. cruenta and E. wilmorei. They are so beautiful that it
is always tempting to have one more try.

(*The name E. parkeri is not listed in Ericas in
Southern Africa by H. A. Baker and E. G. H. Oliver. It
is not known to us.Ed. )

A letter from Australia
Mrs A. Parris, Drouin, Victoria

(The following letter was written by Mrs. Parris to
“Diane and Bert’ on 11th January 1987. When she
writes of “the cuttings from you” she is referring to a
batch of cutting material of 16 cultivars that we sent to
Mr. Ken Gillanders, a nurseryman of Kingston,
Tasmania in June 1985, under a phytosanitary certifi-
cate. Members should not attempt to send cuttings or
plants to friends in Australia otherwise, as that country’s
import regulations are both strict, and _ strictly
enforced.)

Perhaps I should call this an “Interim Report’, but
things are gradually clarifying at this end. Gone,
however, for the present, are my dreams of repeating the
colourful heather garden I had at Spring Cottage, when it
was even opened under the National Garden Scheme. I
am also beginning tc understand why so many Heather
Society people out here seem to drop out.

Whether or not it is the soil or the climate I don’t
know, but I am positive it is largely due to soil fungi.
Here things are complicated by my volcanic subsoil,
which is very unlike the sedimentary clay at Spring
Cottage. It is hard to wet, and when this is achieved,

37

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

dries out in no time. I have now put in an automatic
watering system, but it has been largely unused this
year.

However, now to a more cheerful note; although Mr.
Gillanders did not send the rooted cuttings in small pots
as he suggested himself, they were carefully planted out,
and then treated with Benlate or Fongarid fungicide.
They looked well for a time, and then the “rot’’ set in, but
mostly only with the Erica carnea. So I’ve decided to
give up any more of these.

Of the cuttings from you, E. manipuliflora is an
outstanding success. The plants are vigorous, and com-
ing into flower. I had never grown this at home, although
I had heard of it and seen it.

Most of the E. x darleyensis has come through this
wet season well. E. vagans and E. erigena appear to be
relatively resistant to the soil fungi, whether they are
Phytophthora cinnamomi or others.

Treatment of an E. erigena bush (not one of yours)
which was characteristically dying off, had outstanding
success with Benlate.

There are signs of recovery amongst the heaths I mis-
takenly overdcsed with Ciba Geigy pre-emergent weed
killer. Of these Calluna “Robert Chapman’ now appears
most promising. However, I can’t wait nowadays and
have re-ordered the Callunas and Daboecias for inclu-
sion in the new area.

I would think the E. /usitanica and E. baccans which

38

YEAR BOOK 1987

have naturalised too successfully out here are immune to
the fungal attack. The local conservationists recently
launched an attack on E. baccans in a National Park, but
quite ignored my protest that it was no use doing this
after all the capsules had been allowed to burst. An
Englishwoman who says things like that is just that most
objectionable of persons, a “Whinging Pommy’’.

I was recently honoured with a two hour visit from
Mrs. Tilson, a Heather Society member from New
Hampshire, U.S.A. I collected her at Warragul and
returned her later, after she had travelled the 60 miles
down from Melbourne by train, as part of a World
tour.

I shall hope to send a more optimistic report later in
the year.

Book Review

Heaths and Heathers: A Wisley Handbook

F. P. Knight

64pp. 48 coloured illustrations

Cassell The Royal Horticultural Society, 1986 (New
Edition)

£2.50

This is a completely revised version of the second
edition of Heaths and Heathers, which was published in
1979 and reviewed in the 1980 Year Book. The text has
been enlarged and brought up to date and the inclusion of
48 coloured photographs has greatly added to the value
of this useful Handbook.

In this edition the text follows the same pattern as in
the two previous editions, but includes additional infor-

39

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

mation. The list of recommended cultivars has been
extended with the addition of the best of the more
recent introductions.

Unfortunately there are a few serious mistakes which
the Royal Horticultural Society should never have
allowed to slip through. On p. 9 E. x veitchii ‘Gold Tips’
is shown as a cultivar of E. arborea and on p.8 42 E.
erigena ‘Superba’ and ‘W. T. Rackliff are shown as
cultivars of E. lusitanica. On p. 46 Calluna vulgaris
“White Lawn’ appears as “White Lion (2ft. 60 cm.)”’. It
should be described as 2 in. high. There are other less
important mistakes, which should, nevertheless, have
been corrected in a handbook, which is published with
the authority of the Royal Horticultural Society.

The coloured photographs are mostly well produced
and show authentic colours. The exceptions are those of
Calluna vulgaris ‘Tib’ on p. 47 and E. cinerea ‘Knaphill
Pink’ on p. 51, which surely must have been taken of a
wrongly-named plant.

In spite of these blemishes, this is a most useful little
handbook on the growing of heathers, both for the begin-
ner and the more knowledgeable enthusiast. It is very
sad that the author, who always had a great love for
heathers, did not live long enough to see its
publication.

The price is very reasonable for such a
comprehensive handbook.
P.G.T.

kKkKkKkKK

40

YEAR BOOK 1987
A Newly Discovered Book on Heathers

Thanks to the kindness of Dr Heino Heine of Paris, I
have a copy of a book, which seems to have escaped
notice hitherto. Indeed, it proves to be very scarce, no
copy found in a Paris library, and the only one I know
with it here is the Lindley.

Its title is Des genres Camellia, Rhododendrum,
Azalea, Acacia, Epacris, Erica et des plantes de serre
froide en général by M.Ch. Lemaire published in Paris
by Audot, éditeur du Bon Jardinier, 1844. It runs to 175
small, pages, the heathers from 99 to 125.

Their opening sentence is “‘ Parlez des bruyéres, c’est
parler de ce que le régne végétal nous offre de plus
mignard, de plus delicat, de plus élégant’’. 157 names
“of those most ordinarily cultivated in Europe’’ are
listed with brief descriptions and synonyms. Naturally,
the great part are South African, but included are E.
umbellata, E. carnea, E. erigena (as mediterranea), E.
vagans, E. multiflora, E. cinerea, E. terminalis (as
stricta), E. tetralix, E. ciliaris, E. australis, E. arborea,
E. scoparia, in that sequence, plus Calluna. In addition
there are useful sections on the history of the genus and
its characteristics, its cultivation and its propagation.

Prof. (Antoine) Charles Lemaire (1800-1871) was
French, but spent much of his life in Belgium. He edited
or co-edited various well-known publications such as
Revue Horticole, Flore des Serres and L'Illustration
Horticole. When the last was bought up in 1869, he
returned to Paris, pensionless, and died in poverty
soon after.

D. McC.

41

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Hybridisation of the Hardy Ericas. Part 2.
E. x williamsii, E. x watsonii, and new
hybrids from E. manipuliflora.

Dr John Griffiths, Garforth, Yorkshire

In the 1985 Year Book, preliminary observations on
various attempted crosses between European species of
Erica were presented, together with an account of exist-
ing interspecific hybrids and suggested techniques for
hybridisation experiments. Now that some two years
have elapsed since those observations were recorded,
certain of the presumed hybrid seedlings have flowered
and firm conclusions concerning the true hybrid charac-
ter or otherwise of these can now be made. I would
therefore like to present a brief account of those crosses
that have proved successful, and to describe the
appearance of the hybrids as noted during the
summer of 1986.

1. FE. x williamsti

E. x williamsii is our rarest native heath, and its pre-
sumed parentage (in alphabetical order according to
standard practice in the absence of knowledge of the
mother plant) is E. tetralix x E. vagans. In the preceding
article in this series (Year Book, 1985, p. 36) an experi-
ment was described in which flowers of E. tetralix
‘Melbury White’ were dusted with pollen from E.
vagans ‘Lyonesse’ in the late summer of 1981. Good
seed set was observed, and subsequently a large number
of seedlings were produced which were grown on. Unfor-
tunately these proved lacking in vigour and casualties
were high. By the summer of 1986 only ten plants
remained, and these were generally mid to light green,

42

YEAR BOOK 1987

dome-shaped plants, with compact foliage resembling
that of known E. x williamsii hybrids. The plants were
very slow growing, and the largest was about 17 cm in
diameter and 7 cm high, this after four years of growth
from germination. In my previous article I could not be
too dogmatic about the hybrid status of my plants since
none had flowered at that time. However, flowers were
produced, albeit very sparsely, on two of the plants by
July, 1986. The flowers showed on dissection typical E.
x williamsii characteristics, ie the anthers had short
appendages, in contrast to the long ones of E. tetralix
and the totally absent ones of E. vagans. (Appendages
have not been noted on the few wild plants of E.
x williamsii).The ovary was totally devoid of hairs,
unlike the markedly pubescent ovary of E. tetralix. It
was surprising, and not a little disappointing, to find that
the flowers of both plants were pink. It is not unknown
for the offspring of two white-flowered parents to have
coloured flowers, and it thus seems that this particular
combination of white cultivars is unsuitable for produc-
ing white hybrids*. A white E. x williamsii then still
remains a worthwhile challenge to the hybridiser.

(Extract from RHS Scientific Committee minutes, 7th October, 1986.

‘¢ Mr. McClintock mentioned that when white-flowered cultivars of
E. tetralix and E. vagans had been crossed, the resulting plants were
pink flowered. Mr. (Gavin) Brown(who was awarded a VMH in 1978
for his work on breeding fruit and flowering plants) said that similar
results occurred with Streptocarpus. Professor Bell (Director of Kew)
explained that this resulted from the combination of two biochemical
pathways from the parents, an enzyme from one acting on raw
materials from the other, sometimes producing new compounds. Mr.
Brown described how, in Streptocarpus, white forms resulted from a
“blockage”’ in the production of anthocyanin. Such blockages could be
in different places in different plants, so that a hybrid might lack a
blockage and so have coloured flowers’’. (Sadly Mr. Brown died in
March.)

43

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Since that first experiment of 1981, several other
crosses between E. tetralix and E. vagans have been
made, and although none of the resultant plants has yet
flowered, on foliage considerations alone it is clear that
the crosses were all successful. Notable are the crosses
in which E. vagans ‘Valerie Proudley’ plays the role of
the pollen parent, since a high proportion of the plants
show the bright golden eet characteristic of that
cultivar.

Considering the results of the past -six years’,
experiments with the E. x williamsii system, it can be
concluded that the cross is a very efficient one, and
natural hybrid barriers are very low. Why then should
this be an extremely rare hybrid in the wild? I believe
that the answer lies in the generally low vigour of the
hybrids, and even under garden conditions with careful
attention, losses are high. In nature such plants would
not survive in competition with other species, and the
few known naturally occurring forms of this hybrid are
exceptional in their vigour and robustness.

2. E. x watsonti

This hybrid is more common than E. x williamsii,
but again there is no direct evidence for the presumed

Ad

YEAR BOOK 1987

parentage, EF. ciliaris x E. tetralix, in that no deliber-
ately induced hybrids are recorded. As with E. x
williamsii, no white forms of E. x watsonii are known,
and these remain a valuable objective for hybridisation
experiments. With these factors in mind, several
attempted crosses between E. tetralix as seed parent
and E. ciliaris as pollen parent were made from 1982
onwards. The hybridisation of these two species proved
much more difficult than in the case of E. x williamsii,
and in most cases very little seed was formed, and when
this germinated it generally proved to be pure E. tetralix.

The first successful experiment was carried out
on August 8th, 1983, when pollen from a white
flowered, glandular form of E. ciliaris (kindly provided
by Maj.-Gen. P. G. Turpin) was applied to the flowers of
E. tetralix ‘Con Underwood’. Of eight flowers
pollinated only two showed reasonable seed develop-
ment, and a very small amount of seed was collected and
sown on November | of that year. (It should be noted
that in the same year, crosses with the same form of E.
ciliaris and E. tetralix “Melbury White’, and between E.
ciliaris “Stoborough’, ‘Mrs C. H. Gill’ and ‘Corfe
Castle’ and E. tetralix ‘Alba Mollis’ were all unsuccess-
ful, showing the difficulty of the cross). The seed even-
tually germinated by the end of April 1984, and two
sturdy seedlings survived into the following year. It was
clear from an early stage that these were not typical E.
tetralix, and had more of the foliage character of E.
ciliaris. By mid-summer 1986 the two plants were
approximately 8 cm high with a spread of about 15 cm,
but were very straggly because of the forced conditions
under which they were grown. One of the plants pro-
duced a small terminal cluster of flower buds, which as
they enlarged first appeared pink, and then by the time
they opened fully were pure white. The pink colour could
then be seen to have been caused by the bright pink

45

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

stamens, which could be seen through the translucent
corolla. Fortunately the plant was in flower at the time of
the 1986 Heather Society Conference in Leeds, and I
was able to exhibit this to members. It was reported to
the RHS Scientific Committee on 28 October 1986.

The flowers closely resemble those of other forms of
E. x watsonii, as did the foliage. Dissection of the
flowers showed typical hybrid character, e.g. the ovary
was sparsely pubescent (but the anthers showed no
detectable appendages). Normally E. x watsonii is
stated to have short appendages to the anthers, but it
appears that in this particular case the E. ciliaris pollen
parent exerts a dominant role, and the appendages are
missing. The flowers of the hybrid appeared to be sterile
and self-pollination and pollination with E. ciliaris
pollen gave no seeds. As a consequence the flowers
remained white for a long period, and thus, provided the
floriferousness is adequate, this should eventually make
a valuable new addition to our range of garden
heathers. 4

Before leaving this particular hybrid, mention should
be made of attempts to carry out the same cross in the
reverse direction, ie. using E. tetralix as the pollen
parent and E. ciliaris as the seed parent. So far only a
limited number of experiments have been carried out,
but these look very promising. None of the offspring has
yet flowered, but a good number have intermediate
foliage and show the typical hybrid characteristic of
bright yellow new growth. Should these be confirmed as
hybrids, then this suggests that the cross is much easier
in this direction than in the former direction. One might
also infer then that the naturally occurring E. x watsonii
hybrids will also have been produced in this way, purely
on probability grounds. It might also be that the missing

46

YEAR BOOK 1987

anther appendages in my hybrid are a characteristic of
the cross with E. tetralix as the seed parent, whereas the
more usual situation of anthers with small appendages
may be characteristic of the reverse cross. This intrigu-
ing possibility can only be tested when more of the
deliberate hybrids have flowered.

3. E. manipuliflora x E. vagans

Erica manipuliflora is a somewhat variable species,
with a close affinity to E. vagans. There is no doubt,
however, that in appearance eastern E. manipuliflora is
very distinct from FE. vagans. It is the form that I grow,
upright in growth with white-grey stiff stems, very short
dark green leaves, and interrupted inflorescences.
Furthermore, the flowers are markedly scented, unlike
E. vagans. My own plant originated from David Small,
and he in turn obtained it from a member’s garden
several years ago, but unfortunately its history pre-
viously to that is unknown. Its most endearing charac-
teristic is its extreme hardiness.

In th: 1985 Year Book I described some hybridisa-
tion experiments in which this plant played the role of
seed parent, and various forms of E. vagans __ that of
pollen parent. The earliest such experiment was carried
out in August 1982, using E. vagans ‘Mrs. D. F. Max-
well’. The many offspring that resulted were generally
extremely vigorous, and flowered for the first time in late
summer 1985. Curiously however, a small proportion
(about 10%) were diminutive, very slow growing, plants.
By 1986 only two of the latter remained, and these were

AT

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

approximately 8cm in diamter by 5cm high, whereas the
other plants were by then some 25 cm by 25 cm in size.
The larger plants had flowered sparsely in 1985, and
profusely in 1986. All the evidence pointed to these
being true hybrids. Thus the spacing and interrupted
character of the inflorescences were intermediate
between the two species, as was the growth character of
the plants (semi-fastigiate). The flowers retained the
scent of the E. manipuliflora parent. An additional
piece of evidence was the fact that the E. manipuliflora
was almost entirely self-sterile, as shown by deliberate
self-pollination trials, and yet pollination with E. vagans
pollen gave a high degree of seed set.

After the Leeds Conference, Bert Jones kindly
offered to subject pollen from my hybrids and the parent
Species to staining tests and microscopic examination.
His results are summarised in a separate article in this
journal, and he concluded that whereas the pollen of the
E. vagans and E. manipuliflora parents was normal and
viable, that from my hybrids was non-viable. This is
typical of many interspecific hybrids, and argues for the
hybrid character of my plants and the separate specific
status of E. vagans and E. manipuliflora. The pollen
sterility of these hybrids, and the self-sterility of the E.
manipuliflora parent, despite its pollen fertility, were
reported to the RHS Scientific Committee by David
McClintock on 7 October 1986.

The flowers on my plants ranged from pale shell pink
to pink in colour, and remained in colour on the plants for
a very long period. Thus although none could be
regarded as a great beauty, their vigour, floriferousness,
long flowering period, and scent might make them
worthy of a place in the heather garden.

A similar hybridisation study was initiated in 1983,

48

YEAR BOOK 1987

using E. vagans ‘Lyonesse’ as pollen parent; and the
plants were similar in all respects to those from ‘Mrs. D.
’F. Maxwell’, except that the flowers were generally
paler in colour, ranging to near, but never pure, white.
Equally interesting were offspring from the cross involv-
ing EF. vagans ‘Valerie Proudley’ as pollen parent. About
half were very vigorous plants, resembling closely the
other hybrids described, whereas the other half were
slower growing, and had the foliage colour of ‘Valerie
Proudley’. None of the latter has yet flowered, but they
show promise as foliage plants even if their flowers are of
no consequence.

4. E. manipuliflora x E. tetralix

The success of the E. tetralix x E. vagans crosses,
and the clear affinity between E. manipuliflora and E.
vagans prompted experiments involving E. tetralix as
seed parent and E. manipuliflora as pollen parent. In
early September 1983, seven flowers on E. tetralix
‘Bartinney’ were treated with pollen from E.
manipuliflora, and four of the flowers eventually
produced seed. The seed was collected and sown in the
following November, and this had germinated by June of
the following year, giving 15 seedlings. These were
grown on successfully, and currently range from 8 cm to
15 cm in height, with foliage varying from dark green to
light green with gold tips. The leaves resemble EF. x
williamsii very closely, but the plants are more erect and
stiffer than E. x williamsii seedlings of the same age.
The plants have yet to flower and these flowers are
awaited with interest. It does seem, however, that the
lower vigour found with almost all the E. x williamsii
crosses does not apply to this particular cross.

49

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

The hybrids described in this article represent only a
fraction of the many crosses that have been attempted
but they are the only ones from which true hybrid
character can be assumed beyond reasonable doubt. As
other plants come into flower no doubt many will be
discarded as non-hybrids, but a few will remain as con-
firmed interspecific crosses. These will then be reported
in future Year Books when appropriate.

kkk

George Dickson(1832-1914) VMH, head of Alexander
Dicksons, the rose growers of N. Ireland, son of its foun-
der, ‘“‘endeavoured to cross summer and winter-
flowering heathers by keeping the pollen of the one until
the other was in bloom. He sealed it in goose quills’.

from Heavenly Roses by Jack Harkness, 1985, p. 47.

50

YEAR BOOK 1987

Notes on Erica manipuliflora, E.
vagans and their hybrids

A. W. Jones, West Camel, Somerset.

In the herbarium at the British Museum there is a
specimen with a label that reads “Herb. Pallas.
Sibthorp, Erica purpurascens’’. It was collected “circa
Byzantium” — i.e. in the neighbourhood of Istambul. It
is undated, but John Sibthorp lived from 1758 to 1796.
E. pupurascens was a synonym of £. vagans used,
most erroneously, by Lamarck in his Encyclopedia.
Another hand has pencilled in “E. vagans”’ on the her-
barium sheet. Finally, R. Ross appended his determina-
tive label, correctly identifying the specimen as E.
manipuliflora.

There appear to be close affinities between E.
manupuliflora and E. vagans. In 1838 Bentham (1)
grouped the two plants together. In 1852 Grenier et
Godron (2) wrote that “E. vagans had been wrongly
confused or reunited with E.manipuliflora’ As recently
as 1972 Webb and Rix (3) wrote that “although on
purely morphological criteria E. manipuliflora might be
reduced to a subspecies of E. vagans, its different
habitat, wide geographical separation and usually rather
distinct habit probably justify its retention as an indepen-
dent species”. A more diligent search of the literature
would produce many examples, mainly from the last
century, of these species being treated separately by
some, and together by others.

Some examples of E. manipuliflora appear
markedly different in habit from E. vagans, while others
are remarkably similar. The flowers of the two plants are
virtually indistinguishable. In 1980 I sent David

51

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

McClintock a pressed specimen of the plant that is now
called E. manipuliflora ‘lan Cooper . He wrote back (4)
“Nor do you say whence your Cornish Heath came, for
that it must be, ........ i

What then are the characters that distinguish E.
manipuliflora from E. vagans? Webb and Rix (3) give
the lengths of the leaves and anthers, though the ranges
they quote overlap for the two plants. They also say that
the leaves of E. manipuliflora are mostly erect or
erecto-patent, while those of E. vagans are patent or
somewhat deflexed on older shoots. This last character
seems reliable, as also does that given by Salisbury (5)*.
He described FE. manipuliflora as “with flowers in
interrupted axils’. To these I would add two further,
tentative characters. E. manipuliflora is scented, while

E. vagans is not.The ovaries of E. manipuliflora are
roughly cylindrical and about a third as long again as
their diameter; those of E. vagans are approximately the
same in length as diameter, and constricted towards their
tops, giving them a pear-shaped appearance. These last
two characters need checking on many more examples
of E. manipuliflora before they can be considered
completely reliable.

Until recently no hybrid between E. manipuliflora
and E. vagans was known. In the preceding article Dr.
Griffiths describes how, in 1982, he fertilised an E.
manipuliflora with pollen from E. vagans, and obtained
viable seed. The E. manipuliflora that he used had
failed to produce seed in previous self-pollination
experiments, despite having a pollen fertility of 42.8%.

(*Salisbury also had a specimen of E. manipuliflora “collected by him
next to Bujuchtar and most kindly sent by Sibthorp“. (Bujuchtar
- Buyukdere?).)

52

YEAR BOOK 1987

In September 1986 he kindly gave me one of the result-
ing plants, and flowering stems from two of the others. I
obtained pollen samples from all three plants. Under the
microscope the vast majority of the pollen tetrads were
shrivelled. Tests with Alexander’s stain showed that the
overal pollen fertilities were 9.7, 4.5 and 4.2%,
compared with values of from 42.8 to 88.6% for five
known examples of E. manipuliflora. Even with so
small a sample, these differences are statistically

significant.

The sterility of most interspecific hybrids has long
been recognised. Darwin(6)wrote at length about it. The
summary of his chapter on hybridism begins “First
crosses between forms, sufficiently distinct to be ranked
as species, and their hybrids, are very generally, but not
universally, sterile. The sterility is of all degrees, and is
often so slight that the most careful experimentalists
have arrived at diametrically opposite conclusions in
ranking forms by this test”. That opinions have not
changed may be seen by noting that David McClintock
(7) has written “Most species will not cross with
another, and if they do, their progeny will commonly
be sterile’.

An example of a genus where sterility is slight is pro-
vided by Salix (the Willows). Here many hybrids are
known, and some have three or more species in their
parentage.

The European Ericas are at the other, more pop-
ulated, end of the gradation of hybrid fertility. Their
pollen fertility is a remarkably stable character. My own
observations have shown that, for several cultivars, it
does not vary significantly from plant to plant, in plants
from widely separated growing sites, from year to year,

53

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

or with the time within the blooming period. For both
wild plants & cultivars, I have not noted variations, out-
side those that may be expected from the experimental
technique, from raceme to raceme, from flower to flower
in a Single raceme, or even from anther to anther within a
single flower. Nor does it vary from anthers in unopened
buds to those in faded flowers, though in this last case it
may be difficult to obtain samples. In several hundreds
of examinations of species I have on only four occasions
found values as low as those from Dr. Griffiths’ plants.
Three of those four observations were on E. mackaiana,
including the cultivar ‘Dr. Ronald Gray’. With this
species the situation may be complicated by the sterility
that is sometimes associated with relict populations.

Pollen fertility tests of many examples of all the
previously known hardy Erica hybrids have shown that
they are all almost totally male sterile. Here it seems
apposite to quote again from Darwin (6). “Pure species
have of course their organs of reproduction in a perfect
condition, yet when intercrossed they produce either few
or no offspring. Hybrids, on the other hand, have their
reproductive organs functionally impotent, as may be
clearly seen in the state of the male element in both
plants and animals; though the formative organs them-
selves are perfect in structure, as far as the microscope
reveals”. I have sectioned the ovaries of fewer hybrids
than those for which I have tested the pollen, but in all
cases the ovules have appeared smaller than those of
species. ,

The pollen tests on Dr. Griffiths’ plants confirm that
they are very probably true interspecific hybrids, and
therefore, on these grounds, that E. manipuliflora_and
E. vagans are two distinct species.

54

YEAR BOOK 1987

Although no hybrid between these species was

known until Dr. Griffiths produced his plants, it is poss-
ible that one or more may have existed. The clone that is
probably most frequently supplied as E. manipuliflora
-at present in this country was introduced into trade by
Maxwell & Beale in 1951 as E. verticillata (Forskal,
non Bergius). They had been sent three plants from the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on 16th March 1949 (8),
but Kew do not now know from whence it came to them.
I am told that one of the original plants is still growing on
Naked Cross Nurseries.

For several reasons, I have for some time considered
that this clone may be a hybrid. In September 1979 I
tried to fertilise it with pollen from E. vagans, and
applied its pollen to the stigmas of FE. vagans. Again
early in October 1980 I tried to pollinate its emasculated
flowers with FE. vagans, but all three of these experi-
ments failed to produce any seed. In July 1982 I
examined the pollen under the microscope, and found
that most tetrads were depauperate. In six tests with
Alexander's stain the overall pollen fertilities ranged
from 0 to 3.5%, with a mean value of 1.1%. (In Septem-
ber 1986 I obtained a value of 2.5%).

If this was a hybrid I could not suggest the other
parent, since I could not find characters in it that were
not present in E. manipuliflora. Now, by analogy with
Dr. Griffiths’ hybrids, I believe that it could be E.
vagans. There is one further piece of possible evidence
that may support this opinion. The ovary of the Maxwell
& Beale clone is more like that of E. vagans than E.
manipuliflora. The plant may have arisen as a result of a
fortuitous cross pollination somewhere where the parent
species were being grown sufficiently close together. It
was possibly selected for cultivation, as it is certainly far

55

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

more garden-worthy than many examples of E.
manipuliflora.

Rinus Zwijnenburg tells me (9) that in 1964 he
received seed said to be from E. manipuliflora from a
botanic garden, but he is now unable to remember which.
He grew the resulting seedlings on for several years, but
was doubtful if it was a true E. manipuliflora. In 1974
he asked Harry van de Laar for his opinion on the plant.
He thought it was FE. vagans. Therefore the plant was
introduced later that year as E. vagans ‘Elegant Spike’.
It is not fully hardy in Holland. David McClintock wrote
of this plant in the letter cited earlier (4) “But I do a bit
wonder if it may not be a hybrid, for its anthers are v(ery)
much on the long side’. Yates (10) described this as
“only a typical form of E. vagans”’. In November 1986
David Small sent me some stems of this plant which still
bore some newly opened flowers. The leaves were erect
in whorls of three, and the racemes were somewhat lax
and interrupted, confirming the presence of E.
manipuliflora in its lineage. Examination of the pollen
showed it to be depauperate and only 2.2% fertile. E.
‘Elegant Spike’ may thus be another example of a
fortuitous hybrid between E. vagans and E.
manipuliflora.

In a genus where low pollen fertility is normal in
interspecific hybrids, and very rare in the species them-
selves, there would indeed seem to be a low probability
that two examples of a single species, both showing this
character, should be selected for garden cultivation.
Furthermore, neither of these plants came directly from
a wild population.

56

YEAR BOOK 1987

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank those who have made these
notes possible by supplying me with plant material, or
answering my questions. They are all identified in the
text, or in the references which follow. The opinions
expressed, some of which may be controversial, are
solely my own, and it is I who must take responsibility
for them.

References

1. Bentham, G., in Prodromus Systematis naturalis Regni vegitabilis, de
Candolle, A. P., Part 7, 1838

dp Grenier, J. C. M., and Godron, D. A., Flora de France,1853, Vol.
2, p. 430

3. Webb, D.A. and Rix, E.M., in Flora Europaea, Cambridge University
Press, 1972, Vol. 3, p. 7

4. McClintock, David, Private communication dated 4th October 1980

SD. Salisbury, R.A., “Species of Erica’, Trans. Linn. Soc., 1802, Vol. 6,
p. 344

6. Darwin, C.,The Origin of Species,Ch 1X, Everyman Edn, 1971, pp 261
- 2912

7. McClintock, David, A guide to the Naming of Plants, 2nd Edn., 1980,
-The Heather Society, p. 1

8. Halliwell, B., Private communication dated 17th October 1986

L Zwijnenburg, R., Private communication dated 5th December 1986

10. Yates G., Pocket Guide to Heather Gardening, 4th Edn., 1978.,

p. 28

New Acquisitions
J. Platt, Ulnes Walton, Lancashire

(During 1986, Jack Platt’s continuing search for
heathers that are new to him produced 19 cultivars.
David McClintock and General Turpin have kindly
provided extra information on many of these to make the
descriptions more complete. Unfortunately, it is often

not possible to give ultimate sizes for new cultivars.
Ed:)

57

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Calluna vulgaris

‘Alec Martin’ Aug. - Nov.
This plant was found by Mrs. M.K. Wilson of Rotherham, and
named after a friend. It is said to have been a seedling. It carried its
white double flowers longer than ‘Kinlochruel’. The foliage is dark
green, and it has a dome-shaped habit. It was available from
Toxward Nurseries by 1985.

‘Alys Sutcliffe’ 10cm tall Aug. - Sept.
A neat prostrate plant that develops into a low mound with dark
green foliage and bright mauve flowers. It arose as a seedling, and
was selected and named, by 1965, after Miss Sutcliffe (1894 -
1969), an English horticulturalist working at Brooklyn Botanic
Garden, U.S.A. (Year Book of the Heather Society, 1972, p.
35).

‘Anton’ 20cm tall Aug. - Sept.
The lilac pink flowers of this cultivar are carried on short spikes.
The habit is compact, and it looks like a green-foliaged ‘Andrew
Proudley’. It was found in 1979 as a seedling by Hoekert in a
peat garden at Oldebrock in Holland. He named it after his
nursery foreman, Anton Jansman (Ervicultura, 1983, 51/2, 12;
Year Book of the Heather Society, 1984, P.70).

‘Citronella’ Aug. - Sept.
A white-flowered Calluna which is rather similar to ‘Gold Haze’,
but with somewhat more lemon-coloured foliage. Unfortunately it
sometimes suffers from browning of the lower foliage. It was found
as a Seedling on C. J. Piper’s Pennyacres Nursery in Fife before
1979. (The Gardener’s Book of Heathers, 1985, p. 142).

‘Findling’
A small compact plant that has yet to flower. It was found by
K. Kramer in a nature reserve during the 1970s. (Ericultura,
1979, 35, 10; 1981, 44, 26, illustrated in Gartenpraxis, 9/82, 9
and Der Heidegarten 3:18.

Inchcolm’ Aug. - Sept.
This cultivar has H8 (pink) flowers. The foliage is yellow-green,
with salmon tints in the spring. The habit is dainty and erect. It was
found as a seedling by Mr. Proudfoot of 9 Inchcolm Terrace,
South Queensferry, West Lothian before 1985.(Year Book of the

58

YEAR BOOK 1987
Heather Society, 1986, p. 41).

‘Isle of Flotta’
A vigorous, cushion-shaped mound of mid-green foliage that has
so far carried one mauve flower. It has been known since
1985.

‘Pink Delight’ Aug. - Sept.
This was found as a seedling by Mr. Alan Newsham on Twin Acre
Nurseries, Allostock, Knutsford, Cheshire in 1983. It takes its
name from the pink tips of the new growth, which last well into the
summer. The flowers are H2 (mauve), and the mature foliage mid-
green. The habit is bushy.

‘Ronas Hill’
A good prostrate plant with yellow foliage in spring and summer,
turning orange-bronze in winter. It has not yet flowered. Mr. John
Copland found it in Shetland, and it was introduced by Jack Drake
of Aviemore, Inverness-shire in 1985. (Year Book of the Heather
Society, 1986, p. 41).

‘Sam Hewitt’ Aug. - Sept.
The H13 (crimson) flowers of this cultivar blend well with the gold
foliage. It is rather similar to ‘Firefly’, but more compact. It was
found about 1982, and introduced by Mr. & Mrs. J. Hewitt of
Frensham, Surrey. It is named after their son. (See p. 62 of this
Year Book).

‘Stranger’ 40 cm. Aug. - Sept.
A compact plant with H2 (mauve) flowers and grey-green foliage
which takes on silver tints in spring. S. Ketelaar found it as a seed-
ling in 1976. It was named in 1983, and introduced by P. G.
Zwijnenburg of Boskoop. (Ericultura, 1983, 51/2; 13, Year Book
of the Heather Society, 1987, p. 22 )

‘Sirsson’ 30 cm. Aug. - Sept.
Arose as a Seedling, reputedly from ‘Sir John Charrington’, in Mr.
D. A. Richards’ garden in Eskdale in about 1978. The habit is
similar to ‘Gold Feather . The foliage is gold, turning orange-red in
winter. At Ulnes Walton the foliage is outstanding and lights up
the heather garden. However, Mr. Richards has now discarded the
plant as not worth growing. This may be an example of a plant that
does well under some conditions, and poorly under others. Alter-

59

THE HEATHER SOCIETY
natively, this may be a plant that ages rapidly. (The Gardener's
Book of Heathers, 1985, p. 147).

*White Gold’ Aug. - Sept.
A white-flowered sport on ‘Orange Queen’, found by John Kampa
c. 1974. The foliage is gold, and the habit broad. The flowers
sometimes show a tendency to revert to the normal colour of
‘Orange Queen’. (Year Book of the Heather Society, 1984, p.
62).

‘Whiteness’ 30 cm. Aug. - Sept.
Found as a white-flowered sport on ‘Darkness’ by Hoekert in
1980. It has light green foliage, an erect habit and is floriferous.
(Year Book of the Heather Society, 1985, p. 72; Ericultura,
1983, 51/2; 13 - 14).

Erica carnea

‘Corran Ferry’ Feb. - March
The corollas are H16 (shell pink) with H11 (lilac pink) calyx. It
has green-gold foliage dvring the winter, which turns gold in the
spring. The habit is open. It was introduced by Delany and Lyle of
Alloa by 1982. (Year Book of the Heather Society, 1984, p. 72,
erroneously as Calluna vulgaris).

‘Hilletje’ 10 - 20 cm. Dec. - Feb.
A sport on ““Praecox Rubra’, found by M. Verwey of Boskoop in
1976, and introduced in 1980. It is named after his wife. The
flowers are dark H11 (lilac pink). The foliage is green-gold in
summer, with orange-red tints in winter. (Ericultura, 1980, 26;
Year Book of the Heather Society, 1981, p. 74).

Erica x darleyensis

‘Mary Helen’ 20 cm. Feb. - April

Found as a seedling on Holden Clough Nursery and introduced by
1984. The flowers are H7 (rose pink), and the foliage is yellow-
green in summer, turning bronze in winter. The habit is compact
yet erect. It was named after the Foleys’ daughter. (Year Book of
the Heather Society, 1986, p. 40).

‘Pink Perfection’ Dec. - April
A plant with H7 (rose pink) flowers and dark green foliage. It is
said to have been found as a sport on ‘White Perfection’, but its
origin has not yet been traced.

60

YEAR BOOK 1987

Erica vagans

‘Golden Triumph’ Aug. - Oct.
A sport on ‘Lyonesse’ which retains the white flowers, but has
golden tips on the foliage in spring. It was found by Mr. Alan
Newsham at Twin Acre Nurseries in 1982. (Year Book of the
Heather Society, 1986, p. 45).

* e£ & & &

Cultivars Registered During 1986
The Registrar

43. Calluna vulgaris ‘Gerda’. A prostrate seedling with gold/pink
foliage, first noticed in his garden at Orpington in 1984 by R. G.
Chatelain, named after his wife, and registered by him.

44.Erica tetralix ‘Swedish Yellow’. A sport found on the Torre
Mosse near Vannersborg in Sweden in 1983 by Mrs. B. Johansson
and registered by her. It has rich yellow foliage, the tips somewhat
reddish in winter.

45.Erica manipuliflora ‘lan Cooper’. Found in the wild at Korcula in
Yugoslavia in 1978 by Mr. A. G. Small and registered by his son
David. It has tapering racemes of H16 (shell pink) flowers and
seems hardy.

46.Erica carnea ‘Pink Cloud’. A 1982 seedling in Forest Edge
Nurseries, Verwood, Dorset with fresh green foliage and pink
flowers which darken with age to H12 (heliotrope). Registered by
the owner and finder, David Edge.

Personal and Geographical Names for

Hardy Heathers — 6th Supplement
David McClintock, Platt, Kent.

The fifth supplement appeared in the last, 1986, Year
Book.

Personal Names

‘Barry Sellers’ (carnea). B. M. Sellers of Chandlers Ford, finder of

seedling in late 1970s.
‘Brigitte’ (cinerea). Wife of Comte Bernard de la Rochefoucauld of

Ingrannes, France; seedling pre-1984.
‘Brita Elisabeth’ (Calluna). Mrs. B. Johansson (b. 1932) of Vargon,
Sweden, finder of wild seedling 1980/1.

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THE HEATHER SOCIETY

‘Ian Cooper’ (manipuliflora). Friend (d. 1985) of A. G. Small, finder
of wild seedling on Korcula in 1978, father of David Small.
‘David’s Rescue’ (Calluna). Seedling at R. J. Brien’s of Pitcairngreen,
Perth in 1980’s, rescued from a batch of c. 2,000 by his son

David.

‘Findling Wellner’ (Calluna). (Seedling c. 1980, with J. Kamps at
Hamburg 1986).

‘Fokko’ (Calluna). Youngest son of J. Krebs of Hoyerhagen, S. of
Bremen; sport on ‘County Wicklow’ 1983.

‘Forsteri’ (cinerea). (At Hardwicks by 1986).

‘Gerda’ (Calluna). Mrs. R. G. Chatelain of Orpington; seedling
1984.

‘Sam Hewitt’ (Calluna). Son of Mr. & Mrs. J. Hewitt of Frensham;

seedling c. 1982.

‘Hugh Johnson’ (x darleyensis). Almost certainly an error for

‘Arthur Johnson’.

‘Jochen’ (Calluna). Jochen Stelling, Krebs’ first apprentice; seed-
ling c. 1970.

‘Karina’ (Calluna). ( erroneously also Carina and Kalinka). Wife of
Herr Ranken of Wiesmoor, finder of sport on ‘J. H. Hamilton’
1981.

‘Kersten’ (Calluna). Only child of Mr. & Mrs. Johansson of
Vargon, Sweden; seedling c. 1984.

‘Stephen Leitch’ (cinerea). Doncaster surgeon, and member, named
for his 60th birthday; sport on “C. D. Eason’ at Oliver & Hunter’s
in 1980s.

‘Myrtel’ (Calluna). Wife of Mats Johansson of Boras, Sweden, finder
of wild seedling c. 1984.

‘Polly’ (Calluna). Youngest granddaughter of R. J. Brien of
Pitcairngreen; seedling by 1985.

“Walther Reisert’ (carnea). (ex Nagel Nursery, Bretten, at Bad
Zwischenahn 1986).

‘Saskia’ (Calluna). Rembrandt's wife. The plant made the finder, Mrs.
B. Johansson, think of his paintings; wild seedling c. 1984.

‘Scholje’s Rubin (Calluna). D. Scholjegerdas of Bad
Zwischenahn; sport on ‘Peter Sparkes’ 1980.

‘Schurig’s Goldstern’ (Calluna). K-H Schurig; sport on ‘Schurig’s
Sensation’ in his nursery at Barmstedt pre-1985.

‘Sesse’ (Calluna). The childish name Kersten Johansson (see above)
gave herself; wild seedling 1985. ‘
‘Wilma’ (Calluna). Employee of Bob Brien of Pitcairngreen; seedling

in 1980s.

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YEAR BOOK 1987

Geographical Names

“Typ Anderton’ (Andromeda). Small village near Hoyerhagen, Kreis
Nienburg; wild seedling 1981.

‘Boras’ (Calluna). Swedish town E. of Gothenburg, near where the
wild seedling was found c. 1984.

‘Bosnas’ (Calluna). Swedish town NE. of Gothenburg where the
finder Mats Johansson lives, wild seedling 1981/2.

‘Gold Braemar (Calluna). Town in Aberdeenshire; sport on
‘Braemar at Pitcairngreen in 1980s.

*Holstein’ (Calluna). Province of N. Germany in which is Hatje’s
nursery, where seedling arose c. 1980.

“Hoyerhagen’ (Calluna). Village S. of Bremen where J. Krebs has his
nursery, finder of sport on ‘Sellingsloh’ c. 1984.

“Isle of Flotta’ (Calluna). Small island near Hoy in the Orkney
archipelago; by 1985. :

‘Per Spelleman’ (Calluna). Peter the Fiddler, a hero of a
Norwegian folk song about a farmer who sold his only cow for a
fiddle. He gave his name to a street, near Stavanger, where is the
garden where this reversion on “Ruth Sparkes’ occurred in 1984.
It is of course ‘Alba Plena’.

riojana (arborea) Viloria de Rioja, Burgos, Spain, whence this variety
was named in 1929.

“Rostrevor Pride’ (Calluna). Town in Co. Down, whence the plant is
presumed to come, by 1982.

“Scaynes Hill’ (Calluna). Village in Sussex, where the seedling was
found in a garden pre-1982.

“Sellingsloh’ (Calluna). Wood behind J. Kreb’s nursery; sport on
‘Darkness’ 1982.

“Sneznik’ (carnea). Mountain in Istria, Yugoslavia, where seedling
found by Dr. H. Simon pre-1980.

‘Swedish Yellow (tetralix). Wild sport found on Torre Mosse in
Sweden by Mrs. B. Johansson, 1983.

“Westerlee Gold’ (Calluna). Westerlee in Groningen province, N.
Holland, where A. Bosch has his nursery. Pre-1986.

“Westerlee Green’ (Calluna). As above.

“Wiesmoor Red’ (Calluna). Seedling found by Enno Hinrichs of
Wiesmoor, N. Germany 1981.

Ameliorations

‘Cooperi’ (scoparia). Noted earlier by Dickson’s of Chester 1883.

‘Corran Ferry’ (carnea), and not a Calluna.

‘Incholm’(Calluna). Presumably Terrace in South Queensferry and
not, directly, the island.

63

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

‘Polden Pride’ (carnea), and not “‘Polden Pink’’ (cinerea).

‘Saima’ (Calluna). Mrs. Saima Olafsson, b. 1936. Misprinted as
““Sim’’.

“Tybesta Gold’ (carnea). Roman name for Grampound, Cornwall,
where Anderson’s nursery is, where seedling appeared 1975. Not
as stated in 1981 “Parish in Cornwall’.

Personal Names for South African
Ericas. Part 1.
David McClintock, Platt, Kent.

The earlier lists of such personal names have been
restricted to the hardier, European heathers. The
Society however, when it was appointed Registrar, was
not allowed to hive off the tender species and hybrids,
hence the list which follows. It is the first of three parts,
to be followed by a fourth with place names. As always,
comments and additions are welcome, but so far none
has ever come! I am however greatly indebted to Ted
Oliver at Stellenbosch, who has made three sets of
helpful comments on these drafts.

abelit. Ludwig Abel of Port Elizabeth, mountaineer, finder,
still alive.
acockii. J. P. H. Acocks, formerly Acock, 1911 -
1979, ecologist, collector.
aitoni, aitonia, aitoniana. William T. Aiton, 1766-1849, of
Kew.
albertus. Pre 1867 (Glendinning).
alexandri. Dr. R. C. Alexander 1809 - 1903. (cf priorii).
alfredii. Alfred Bolus 1871 - 1952, nephew of Harry Bolus.
andreaei. Dr. Hans Andreae, d. 1963, chemist, naturalist, finder.
andrewsia, andrewsiana, andrewsii. Henry C. Andrews, d.
1830, artist and author of heather books.
archeria. Sarah, widow of 2nd Lord Archer, d. before 1802.
‘Asendorf (gracilis). Gunter Asendorf, Baden pre-1984.
atherstonei. Dr. William G. Atherstone 1814 - 1898, member of

64

YEAR BOOK 1987

Cape Parliament. Collector.
“Auerback’s Weisse’ (gracilis). M. Auerbach, by 1935.
austinian, (irbyana retorta). J. Austin 1776 - 1849, of Austin

McAslan of Glasgow.
bachmannii. Dr. Franz E. Bachmann 1856-1916, naturalist,
finder.

bakeri. Col. H. A. Baker RE 1896 - 1976, co-author of Evicas in
Southern Africa, finder.

bandonia (irbyana). Catherine, Countess of Bandon, d. 1815.

banksia. Sir Joseph Banks PRS 1743 - 1820.

barnesii. by 1867 (Glendinning).

bartlingiana. Prof. Frederich G. Bartling of Gottingen 1798 -
1875, finder.

batemania. pre-1841 (Rollison).

bauera. Francis Bauer 1758 - 1840, artist.

baurii. Rev. I. R. Baur 1825 - 1889, finder.

beatricis. Mrs. Beatrice Ensor of Uniondale, Cape Province.

beaumontiana. Mrs. Beaumont of Bretton Hall, Yorks(? or Lady
Diana, d. 1831).

bedfordiana. John Russell, Duke of Bedford 1766-1839, of
Hortus Ericaeus Woburnensis. (cf russelliana).

bequartii. J. C. C. Bequart, d. 1886, finder.

berghiana. Dr. van den Berg 1957.

bergiana. Prof. Peter J. Bergius, of Stockholm 1730 - 1790.

blandfordiana. George, Marquis of Blandford, later Sth Duke of
Marlborough d. 1840.

blancheana. Mrs. Blanche Humphrey Smith of Cape Province,
1930.

bodkinii. Prof. A. A. Bodkin 1847 - 1930, mathematician,
collector.

bolusiae. Dr. H. M. L. Bolus 1877 - 1970, niece and daughter-in-law
of Harry Bolus, botanist.

bondiae. Miss P. Bond (Mrs. Fairall) b. 1917, botanist, finder.

bonplandia. AiméJ. A. Bonpland 1773-1858, French botanist.

‘boucheana, (nivenii x pellucida). Peter G. Bouché, yr of Berlin 1782
- 1856, heather grower. —

bowerit. by 1825 (Donovan).

bousteadiana_ _ pre-1875 (Rollison).

bowieana. James Bowie c. 1789 - 1869, collector.

‘Bremen’ (x wilmorei), pre-1900 (Gentilhomme).

broadleyana. by 1809 (Andrews).

brownii (ventricosa). by 1875 (Rollison).

brownleeana. Miss Brownlee, missionary’s daughter, by 1887.

burchellii. William J. Burchell 1781 - 1863, collector.

65

THE HEATHER SOCIETY
burnettii (hartnellii x hyemalis). Mr. Burnett, gardener to Mr.

Buckland of Peterborough, c. 1853.
caffra/caffrorum. Of the kaffirs, used for S. Africa.

cameronil. Ken. J. Cameron, mountaineer, finder 1913.

candolleana. Augustin P. de Candolle, Swiss botanist
1778 -1841.

‘Casimir Perrier (cylindrica x _ willmorei). pre-1900
(Gentilhomme).

‘President Carnot’ (cylindrica x willmorei). Sadi Carnot 1837 -
1894.

cavendishii (depressa x patersoniana). William Spencer Cavendish,
Duke of Devonshire 1790 - 1858.

celsiana. M. Cels of Paris ? 1771-1831.

chamissonis. Louis C. A. von Chamisso 1781 - 1838, botanist,
collector, of Berlin-Dahlem.

cliffordiana. Eleanor, widow of 6th Baron de Clifford, d. 1845.

clintonaia. ?Rev. John Clinton 1771 - 1846.

clowesiana. 1825.

comptoniana (curvifolia). 1812. ? Marquis of Northampton.

comptoni. Prof. R. H. Compton 1886 . 1979, Director of
Kirstenbosch.

cooperi. Thomas Cooper 1815 - 1913, collector.

coventryana. Peggy, Lady Coventry, wife of George William 7th
Earl, d. 1840.

cushiana. by 1840.

cushonia. by 1828.

deckeri. Geheimer Hofbuchdrucker Decker of Berlin, fl 1892.

denisoniana. by 1872.

dickensoniana. Mr. Dickenson, by 1812 (Hort. Cantab.).

dickinsoni. c. 1810.

‘Professor Diels’ (coloransx perspicua). Prof. F. L. E. Diels 1874 -
1944 of Dahlem.

dodii. Lt.-Col. A. H. Wolley-Dod, 1861 - 1948, finder.

donniana. ?James Donn 1758 - 1813, of Cambridge.

douglasiae. 1851.

douglasii (aitonii x perspicua). Archibald, 1st Lord Douglas of
Bothwell 1748 - 1827, or 2nd 1773 - 1844.

dregeana. Johann F. Drege 1794 - 1881, apothecary.

dunbariana. between 1790 and 1841 (Rollison)

‘Lady Dunglass’ (marnockiana x turnbullii). d. 1919. cf Countess
of Home.

‘Lord Dunglass’ (marnockiana x ?). 17th Earl of Home
1834 -1918.

66

YEAR BOOK 1987

duthieae. Dr. A. Vera Duthie 1881 - 1963 of Stellanbosch,
lecturer in botany.
dykei. E. S. C. Dyke, d. 1915. Railway official and mountaineer.

edelina. M. Edeline, head gardener at Navarre, 1813.

‘Roi Edouard’. 1841 - 1910.

ekloniana. Christian F. Ecklon 1795 - 1868, collector.

‘“Geheimrat Engler (colorans x perspicua). Dr. Adolf Engler
1844 - 1930.

eppsii (trichoma). by 1875.

esterhuyseniae. Miss Elsie E. Esterhuytsen b. 1912, botanist at Bolus
herbarium, collector.

ethelae. Miss Ethel West, 1918, collector.

eugenea. (Dulfer 1964)

eugenia. pre - 1900, sport.

eustacei. C. Eustace Pillans, 1850 - 1919, father of N. S. Pillans
(cf. pillansii).

eweriana. Walther Ewer 1793.

eylesii. F. Eyles of Umtali, collector 1924.

faireana. 1880.

fairii. C.B. Fair, finder in 1894, friend of Harry Bolus.

fairreana. by 1882 (Rollison).

‘Fannie’ (regia). by 1976.

‘Felix Faure’ (wilmorei). M. Felix Faure 1841 - 1899.

fergusonii. by 1882 (Gentilhomme & Carriere).

flanaganii. Henry G. Flanagan 1861-1919 , farmer, collector.

forbesiana. John Forbes 1798 - 1823, collector.

forsteri. J. R. Forster 1729 - 1798, or his son, J. G. Forster
1754 - 1794.

fourcadei. Dr. Henri G. Fourcade 1865— 1948, forester and
collector.

galpinii. Edward E. Galpin 1858 - 1941, banker, collector.

‘Geiger (gracilis). Konrad Geiger, Tagerveiler, Switzerland, c.

1950.

gilli. Dr. W. Gill 1792 - 1863, medical practitioner, collector.

‘Glaser’s Rote’ (and ‘Weinr6te’) (gracilis). K. Glaser, 1925.

goatcheriana. A. N. Goatcher of Ceres, Cape Province, 1921.

gordinia.. Col. R. J. Gordon, 1741 - 1797, explorer.

greyil. Sir George Grey 1812 - 1898, Governor of Cape Colony.

grisbrookii. Charles Grisbrook 1843—1902, finder.

guthriei. Prof. Francis Guthrie 1831 - 1899, mathematician and co-
author of Flora Capensis.

67

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

gysbertii. Gysbert Grisbrook, relation of Prof. Guthrie, finder,
1905.

hameriana. A. Handel Hamer, b. 1865, mountaineer.

haroldiana. Prof. Harold H. W. Pearson 1870 - 1916, of
Kirstenbosch.

harroyana. Prof. J. P. Harroy, b. 1909.

hartnellii (crinita). 1820.

harvieana. Prof. William H. Harvey 1811 —1866, co-author of
Flora Capensis.

*Heléne’ (cylindrica x wilmorei). 1879.

hendersonii. Henderson’s Nursery, Pineapple Place, 1844.

hendricksei. J. J. Hendrickse of Caledon, on whose farm it grew,
1967.

hesseana. C. F. Hesse 1772 - 1832, Lutheran minister, collector.

hibbertiana. George Hibbert, 1757 - 1837, of Clapham.

‘Hintze’s Fruhe’ (gracilis). by 1977.

holfordii (tricolor). by 1875.

‘Countess of Home’ (turnbullii x marnockiana). ?Marian wife of 17th
Earl, d. 1919. cf Lady Dunglass.

humeana. Amelia wife of Sir Abraham Hume of Wormley, 1751

- 1809.
humeriana. Bolus 1914. ?error for hameriana.

‘Imperatrice de Russie’ (cylindracea). (Gentilhomme)

ingramii (?hyemalis x linneana).

‘Ingrid’ (gracilis) 1978.

ioniit. Dr. Ion Williams, engineer and botanist. b. 1912.
‘Iphigenia’. (Vilmorin 1875).

irbyana. Hon. William Henry Irby of Farnham Royal, fl 1809.

jJacksoniana. Prof. W. P. U. Jackson, endocrinologist, President of
Bot. Soc. of S. Africa. b. 1918.

jJacksonii (irbyana x retorta). T. Jackson’s Nursery, Kingston,

Surrey, by 1840.

jJeppet. Dr. T. Jeppe, 1933.

‘John McLaren’ (mammosa). by 1980.

jJohnstoniana. Sir Harry H. Johnston, HM Commissioner in British
Central Africa ?1858 - 1927.

Jubana. by 1875.

Junonia. Goddess Juno.

68

YEAR BOOK 1987

keetit. Dr. J. D. Keet 1882 - 1976, forester, finder.
Kennedyana. Lewis Kennedy 1775 - 1818, of Lee & Kennedy.
Kingscottiana. by 1875.

‘Kessler Fruh’ (gracilis). Julius Kessler, Delnenhorst, pre-1984.

kraussiana. C. Ferdinand Krauss 1812 - 1890, of Stuttgart,
finder.

krigeae. A. M. Krige, 1908.

krookii. P. Krook, finder. fl. 1895.

krugeri. Fred J. Kruger, forester, finder, b. 1944.

‘Kunst’s Rot’ (gracilis). M. Kunst 1958.

kunthii. C. S. Kunth 1788 - 1850.

Recent Writings on Heathers, 1986

Anon. “Ian Willis and his St. Kilda Heathers’, The Nurseryman and Garden
Centre, 19th Sept. 1985.
The thriving Inverliever Nursery at Lochgilphead, housing also the St. Kilda
collection of Callunas.

Anon. “‘Heather Nurseries get together”, Horticultural World, 7th March,
1986, p.6
Berrydown, Forest Edge, Winchfield House and Windlesham
Court, founder members: of the British heather Growers Association.

Anon. “Dopheide voor binnen”, Groei & Bloei, 1986, No. 5, p. 42
Winter-flowering Cape Heaths.

Anon. “Calluna”, Practical Gardening, Aug. 1986, p. 50.
Good advice; good photo of ‘Darkness’.

Anon. “Erica. Glockenheide”, Mein schoner Garten, Aug. 1986, pp. 91 - 2.
A fine picture of white Calluna, the text on Erica gracilis.

Anon. “Clusiusleutel voor H. J. van de Laar’, Groie & Bloei, Dec. 1986,
p. 48.
An encomium on our distinguished member on being presented with this
coveted award.

Anon. “Work in December”, Bloei & Groei, Dec. 1986, p. 48.
Advice on covering with conifer branches or straw for the winter Erica
cinerea, E. vagans, E. x watsonii and E. arborea.

Anon. Berry-bearing moorland plants (pp.53)5); Heather mixture (pp.56-9).
In “The High Kingdom”, Readers Digest, 1986.
Re-hashes of the garbled articles, originally by D. McC., in The Living
Countryside in 1983. The former has Alpine Bearberry labelled as the
berry-less Phyllodoce. Text otherwise, and pictures, good.

Anon. “Dabaoecia cantabrica (Huds.)C. Koch dans le sud-armoricain”’, Index
Seminum, Ville de Nantes, 1986, pp. 17 - 19.
Discusses its distribution, ecology and associates, plus a drawing,
photograph, map and bibliography, the last incomplete.

Allen, O. E., ““Hardy (and not so hardy) heaths and heathers”’, Horticulture,

69

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Oct. 1986, pp. 46 - 53.
A good account, mostly from the lips of Jim Cross of Long Island. In
addition, p. 67 lists eight heather nurseries in USA.
Anderton, S., ‘“‘“Heather Gardening”, The Garden, 1986, Vol. 111, No. 2, pp.
62 - 7.
Different ways of using heathers.
Askjaer, S. A., “Andromeda”, T radgardsamatoren, 1986, No. 4, pp. 80 - 1.
With photos of ‘Nana’ and “Macrophylla’.

Ball, G., “‘Increase your heathers”, Practical Gardening, Aug. 1986, p. 51.
Good advice.

Baxendale, M.., “Fine weather heaths”, Amateur Gardening, 7th June 1986, pp.
22 - 3.

Mainly long-flowering summer cvs.

Bloom, Adrian, “Erica carnea ‘Myretoun Ruby’ ”, Garden News, 18th Jan.
1986, p. 28
Praise, at some length, plus mention of other cvs.

Bloom, Adrian, “Heathers and Conifers under attack”, Amateur Gardening,
22nd March, 1986, pp 24-5.
“A garden without heathers and dwarf conifers would be a much poorer
one’’. A. Titchmarsh begs to differ (cf p.73).

Buttenschgn, J. and Buttenschgn, R. M., ““Heathland regeneration following
cropping with the forage harvester’, Natura Jutlandica, 1985, Vol. 21, No.
12, pp. 201 - 8.

Vegetative regeneration favoured by high - 15 cm - cutting, by cutting in
spring and by the removal of cuttings.

Collaert, J. P., “Cinq bruyeres pour neuf mois de floraison’”, L’Ami des
Jardins, Feb. 1986, No. 720, pp. 12 - 3.

A curious choice, each illustrated in colour; but surely the artist never saw
the originals fresh, if at all.

Amaral Franco, J., Erica, Calluna and Daboecia in Nova Flora de
Portugal, 1984, Lisbon, pp. 3 - 9.

Flora Europaea narrowed to the plants to be found in Portugal, which
includes the Azores.

Fortgens, G., Maas, W. and Molenaar, W.H., (Tree nursery subjects as house
plants), Vakblad voor Bloemisterij, 1985, Vol. 40, No. 26, pp. 36 - 7.
Loss of foliage colour due to low light intensity was the problem with
Calluna cvs.

Garratt, B. and McClintock, D., ‘“‘Miss Waterer of Eden Valley”, The Cornish
Garden, 1986, No. 29, pp. 41 - 7.

Reprint of the article in the 1985 Year Book, plus a footnote from Mrs.
Shaw.

Greuter, W., Burdet, H. M. and Long, G., Mediterranean Checklist 3, 1986,

Geneva.

Lists the distribution of Bruckenthalia, Calluna, Daboecia and

Erica in 27 territories - those bordering the Mediterranean plus Portugal,
Bulgaria, the Crimea and Jordan.

Grimstad, S. O., (Effects of giberellic acid, temperature and storage on seed
germination of heather (Calluna vulgaris), Meldingen fra Norges
Landbrukshogskole, 1985, Vol. 64, No. 2.

70

YEAR BOOK 1987

100% germination after 18 - 24 days of treated seed; only 19% of
untreated. Optimum temperature for treated seed 21°C by day, 24° by night.
Storage had no effect on rate of germination.

Guerrier, G., Viemont, J-D. and Beaujard, F.,“‘I. Developpement et contente
minéral des vitroplants transfers’, Plant & Soil, 1985, Vol. 84, No. 3, pp.
332 - 336.

Studies on perlite nutrient media for two months.

Guerrier, G., Beaujard, F. and Viémont, J-D., “Il. Relations entre les fractions
libres azotées et les capacités nitrate reductase et glutinate dehydrogenase”,
ibid, pp. 337 - 345.

Another two-month study.

Guinochet, M. and de Vilmorin, R., Flora de France, Supplement 4, 1982,
CRNS. Calluna p. 1331; Daboecia pp. 1335 - 6; Andromeda p. 1337;
Erica pp. 1340-5.

Descriptions, plant associations, distribution, very clear

drawings; no hybrids or vars; two keys for Erica, vegetative and floral.

GUS, Cartoon on the BHGA, The Grower, 3rd April 1986, p. 2.

Guyton, A., ‘‘Practical Planting; soft edges, heather’, Practical Gardening,
Dec. 1986, p. 25.

On E. cinerea ‘Stephen Davis’ with a colour photograph.

Henson, J. and Carr, D., in All About Ground Cover, 1986, Foulsham; Calluna
p.43; Erica p.54.

Pictures of white Calluna and white E. vagans. Text could be better.

Hesse, M.., “‘Hemispheric surface processes of exine and orbicules in Calluna
(Ericaceae)’’, Grana, 1985, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 93-8.

Pollen. i

Hoekert, H., ‘“Tweejarige teelt Calluna loont niet”, Vakblad voor de
Bloemisterij, 1986, No31, pp.36 - 7.

Views on developments in production.

Howard, J., ‘A short border with along season”’, Horticulture, Oct. 1986, pp. 51
=2.

How a field hand from Sylvan Nursery built a heather bed.

Jackel, G., ‘“Grundwasser-ganglinien unter verschiedenen Planzengesell-
schaften in nord-west deutschen Heidemooren”, Tuexenia, 1986, No. 6,
195 - 204. i
The subtle gradients in the ground water ‘that control the various lant
associations, eg with E. tetralix.

Johansson, B., “Om vadan av omkastade vokaler’, Tradgardsamatoren, 1986,
No. 2, pp. 32 - 3.

An account of Daboecia (and its reversed vowels), based on the 1984 Year
Book article.

Johansson, B., “Calluna”, ibid. No. 3, p. 69.

Black and white photographs of mixed Callunas in pots in Japan.

Krekwerth, R. A., ““Wo einst der Fuchs an Weltschmerz starb”, Mein schoner
Garten, 1986, No. 10, pp. 93 - 6.

Two fine photographs of a heather moor in flower, with a good account of one
in Emsland, NW Germany.

Lange, J., “‘Lyngen Fortaeller’, Haven, 1986, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 508 - 11.
Mostly on names connected with heathland. But does Ling derive from a word
meaning “‘singing’”?

71

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Lutken, E., ‘“‘Dyrkning af lyngi have”, Haven, 1986, Vol. 86, No. 12, pp.660-4.
A good general account by our member with his colour photographs of nice
groups of ‘Allegro’, ‘C. D. Eason’, ‘P. S. Patrick’, ‘Radnor’, and probably, E.
cinerea ‘Alba Major’.

McClintock, D., “‘Harmonising botanical and cultivar classification with special
reference to hardy heathers’’, Acta Horticulturae, 1986, No. 182, pp. 277 -
83.

The paper delivered at Wageningen in 1985 including the formal
publication of E. tetralix f. stallata (cf. P. 18).

Muller-Schneider, P., “‘Verbreitungsbiologie der Blutenpflanzen
Graubundens”’, Veroffentlingen des geobotanischen Instituts ... Rubel.
Notes on the fruits and methods of dispersal of Calluna and E. carnea.

Nelson, E. C., “New cultivars of Erica and Daboecia ...”’, Moorea, 1986, Vol.
55 pp. 19 - 20.

E. cinerea ‘Kerry Cherry and D. cantabrica ‘Doris Findlater’, their stories
and descriptions.

Nelson, E. C., “Heathers from Carryduff for limestone pavements”, Home
Gardening, Sept. 1986, pp. 18 - 19.

J. W. Porter’s heathers.

Nelson, E. C., “Woolly Bears devour Dorset Heath in Ireland”, BSBI News,
1986, Vol. 44, p. 14.

Caterpillars of the Fox Moth grazing Ireland’s rarest heath, a protected
species.

Oliver, E. G. H., ‘““The Identity of Erica vinacea and notes on hybridisation in
Erica”, Bothalia, 1986, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 35 - 8.

Probably E. fastigiata x E. fervida, yet these have quite different pollinating
agents. Fifteen other natural hybrids are listed.

Pudshoorn, W.., ‘‘Afwisseling in de heidetuin”, Groei & Bloei, Sept. 1986, pp. 26
3 To
On Daboecia, good as far as it could go, but the photograph of
‘‘Atropurpurea” is of a normal coloured plants.

Pearson, R., “Heather Bright’, Daily Telegraph, 27th July 1986.

OK.
Persson, A., “‘En liten orientering om surmarksvaxterna Calluna och Erica”,
Tradsgardsamatéren, 1986, No. 2, p. 31.
Some general comments, including a drawing of ‘Harlequin’ by Mrs.
Johansson.
Polunin, O. and Walters, M., A Guide to the Vegetation of Britain and Europe,
1985, Oxford University Press.
Includes beautiful drawings of Bruckenthalia, Calluna, Daboecia, 15 Ericas
and a distribution map of E. tetralix, E. scoparia called ““Green heath’.
Rachman, O., The History of the Countryside, 1986, Dent.
Chapters 14 and 15 contain 45 stimulating pages on heathland and grassland.
Rich, LI., “Recladding the mountain’, National Trust Magazine, 1986, No. 48,
p. 28. Heng
Re-introducing heather in Derbyshire with 10-inch cuttings with seed heads.

WZ

YEAR BOOK 1987

Royle, D., “High profile heaths”, Horticultural Week, 3rd Oct. 1986, pp. 24-5.
The Kingfisher Nurseries, Spalding.

Samftleben, H., ““Baumschule Hatje, Tornesch-Ahrenlohe/Holstein’’, Deutsche
Baumschule 1986, No. 8, p. 319.

The 50-year jubilee of the firm of Hatje.

Sawyer, A., A Plant Buyer's Directory, 1986, Ebury Press, pp. 25, 96, 112, 181.
Nice small depictions, including ‘Foxhollow and ‘Lyoness’, but
“‘Kinlochruel “8-ins tall”, E. carnea (in the autumn section with E. vagans)
“30 - 45 cm.”

Storek, A. L., and Lebrun, J-P., Index de cartes de repartition des plants
vasculaires d'Afrique 1935 - 81, 1981, Maisons Alport, Cedex.

p. 20 Calluna, 9 refs; p. 35 E. arborea, 7 refs; p. 36 E. ciliaris, 3 refs; E.

cinerea 1; E. multiflora 3; E. scoparia 1; E. sicula 1; E. terminalis 3.
Strong, G., “Calluna”, Practical Gardening, Aug. 1986, pp. 50 - 1.

Good advice.

Titchmarsh, A., “Getting the needie’”, Amateur Gardening, 30th Nov. 1986.
‘*Leave dwarf conifers and heathers to the kids” — but his diatribe is chiefly
anti-conifer. (See also Bloom, p. 70).

Turpin, P. G., ‘“‘The Wild Heathers of the British Isles I’, Wild Flower
Magazine, 1986, No. 405, pp. 14 - 16.

Covers Calluna, E. cinerea and E. tetralix as reliably as one would expect,
with clear line drawings by Mrs Olga Stewart.

Turpin, P. G., ““The Wild Heathers of the British Isles, IT’, ibid, 1986, No. 406
pp. 27 - 30.

E. ciliaris, E. vagans, E. x watsonii, E. x williamsii, E. lusitanica.
Turpin, P. G., “‘The Wild Heathers of the British Isles, IIT’, ibid No. 407,
pp. 21 - 4.
E. erigena, E. mackaiana, E. x stuartit, E. terminalis and Daboecia
cantabrica.

Uotila, P. and Pellinen, K., ““Chromosome numbers in vascular plants from
Finland’, Acta Botanica Fennica, 1985, No. 130, p. 17.
Andromeda polifolia misquoted as 2n=c. 24; the source, Sousa 1963, had,
correctly 2n = 48.

van de Laar, H. J. Naamlijst van houtige Gewassen, 1986, Boskoop.
Lists species, subspecies and cultivars of woody plants in Dutch nurseries
with their correct spellings and synonymns — Andromeda 8 cvs;
Bruckenthalia 1; Calluna 248; Daboecia 28; E. arborea 4; E. australis 1;
E. carnea 45; E. ciliaris 10; E. cinerea 90; E. x darleyensis 14; E. erigena
5; E. lusitanica 1 E. mackaiana 6; E. x stuartii 5; E. terminalis 1; 2E.
tetralix 20; E. vagans 24; E. x veitchii 3; E. watsonii 6; E. x williamsii 2:

Viemont J-D. and Beaujard, F., “Les Bruyeres in vitro, V — monopode et
sympode chez Erica x darleyensis Bean’’, Bull, Soc. bot. fr.,985, Vol. 132,
pp. 65 - 70.

E. x darleyensis when grown under proper conditions has a rhythmic growth
(with several annual flushes). Two patterns of ramification occur.

73

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Viémont J-D., Guerrier, G. and Beaujard, F., “Influence de la solutio nutritive
dans la phase de reinsertion in vivo des vilroplantes d’Erica x darleyensis. 3.
Developpment de lappareil vegetatif’, ibid., 1985, Vol. 132, No. 3,
pp. 213 - 33.

The development of plants on perlite supplied with different concentrations of
nutrient.

Welch, D. and Scott, D., “‘Further observations on a Callunaetum intensively
grazed by mountain hares (Lepidus timidus L.)” Trans. Bot. Soc.
Edinburgh, 1985, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 323 - 33.

Average height 10 cm 31 years after burning.

Woodsman (J. Street), ‘““An elusive heather’, Horticultural Week, 1986, Vol.
200, No. 24, p. 16.

On E. arborea ‘Alpina’, which ‘“‘seems to have disappeared”!

There have also been useful articles, too many to add to the list here, in our
contemporaries Ericultura, Der Heidegarten and Heather News.

74

YEAR BOOK 1987
NURSERYMEN MEMBERS

*Further details in our advertisements. We thank these members for the support
which they give to the Year Book.

W Wholesale only.

W/R_ Members who cater for both wholesale and retail trade. Nurserymen in this
group and the preceding one welcome enquiries from other traders
needing supplies.

MO Nurserymen who are willing to supply plants by “mail order”.
All other nurserymen members cater for retail trade only.

ZONE 1. Scotland

W/R R. J. Brien, Pitcairngreen Heather Farm Perth.
MO
*W/R Mr. & Mrs. G. W. CARTWRIGHT, Blairhoyle Nurseries, Blairhoyle,
Port of Menteith, Stirling FK8 3LF.

W/R Mr. & Mrs BRYCE S. CRAIG, Carmyle Nurseries, Maxwelltown
Station Road, Dumfries: DG2 9RL.
W/R A. HALL, Hallmark Heathers, Rosebay Cottage, The Sneep, Mellerstain,
Nr Gordon, Berwickshire TD3 6LG.
W/R G. HALL, Galloichoille, Isle of Gigha, Argyllshire PA41 7AD.
*W Maj. C. B. & C. J. INNES, Highland Heathers Ltd, Achahoish Nursery,
by Lochgilphead, Argyllshire A31 8PD.
* D. A. LAMBIE, Speyside Heather Centre, West End, Skye of Curr,
Dulnain Bridge, Inverness-shire PH26 3PA.
D. C. Mac ARTHUR, Camore Gardens, Dornoch, Sutherland
IV25 3MX.
* C. P. PIPER, Pennyacre Nurseries, Crawley House, Springfield, Fife,
KY15 3RU.
R/MO T. W. REAY, Rob Roy Nursery, Trossachs Road, Aberfoyle, Perthshire
FK8 3SP.
W/R G. S. STURROCK, Angus Heather, 10 Guthrie Street, Letham, Angus
DD8 2PS.
D. H. TODD, The Nook Annfield, Alyth, Perthshire PH11 8ET.
D. W. WILLIAMSON, T. & W. Christie (Forres) Ltd, The Nurseries,
Forres, Morayshire IV36 OEA.
J. D. WILSON, Messrs Oliver & Hunter, Moniave, Thornhill, Dumfries-
shire DH3 4HH.

ZONE 2. Ireland.
J. BRADLEY, Mid-Ulster Garden Centre, Station Road, Maghera, Co.
Londonderry, N. Ireland.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. T. R. R. CARSE, Scrabo Nurseries, Glen Hill Cottage, 12
Ballyrogan Park, Newtownards, Co. Down, N. Ireland.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. S. FIDGEON, Millbrook, 130 Vow Road, Ballymoney, Co.
Antrim, N. Ireland BT53 7NT.

75

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

W/R GALLAGHER BROS, The Birches Nursery & Garden Centre,
Birches, 14 Derryvinney Road, Portadown, Co. Armagh,
N. Ireland.

W/R Mrs. M. HANNA, 162 Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim, Co. Antrim, N.
Ireland BT41 2JJ.

R/MOs p, KANE, Kane Bros Nursery, 92 Dundrinne Road, Castlewellan,

Co. Down, N. Ireland BT31 9EK.
Mr. & Mrs. D. KERINS, Fermhurst Garden Nurseries, Killowen,
Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Ireland.
Mr. & Mrs. J. MORRIS, The Lock’s Nursery, 25 Terryhoogan Road,
Scarva, Craigavon, Co. Armagh, N. Ireland BT63 6NF.

W/R M. SLEVIN, Model Nursery & Garden Centre, Horseleap, Moate, Co.
Westmeath, Ireland.

W G. WILLIS, Kilternan Nurseries, Kilternan, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

ZONE 3. North East
W/R Mr. & Mrs. J. M. KANE, Glendale Nurseries, Haugh Head, Wooler,
Northumberland NE71 6QP.
Messrs. J. D. & S. M. LISHMAN, Heighley Gate Nursery Garden
Centre, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 3DA.

ZONE 4. North West
W C. D. BENSON, The Nurseries, 281 Croston Road, Farington,
Preston, Lancashire.
W T. FODEN, Foden Nurseries, Rowley House, Kermincham, Holmes
Chapel, Cheshire CW4 8DX
* P. J. FOLEY, Holden Clough Nursery, Holden, Bolton by Bowland,
Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 4PF.
W/R R. HOLMES & SONS, The Nurseries, Natland, Kendal, Cumbria
LAY 7QC.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. KENNEDY, Crossways Gardens, 8 Glasgow Road,
Gretna, by Carlisle, CA6 SDT.
Mr. & Mrs. H. LAMBERT, 62a Chorley Road, Wingates, Westhoughton,
Bolton, Lancashire. mes
T. C. McGAWLEY & SONS, 12 The Green, Kirksanton, Millom,
Cumbria LA18 4NZ.
P. J. NAISBY, Moss House Nurseries, Justicetown, Westlinton,
Carlisle, Cumbria CA6 6AN.
W Mr. & Mrs. P. NEWSHAM, Twin Acre Nurseries, Hulme Hall Lane,
Allostock, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 9JN.
WAI16 9JN
W Mr. & Mrs. R. G. RIMMER, Hinton House, Pygons Hill, Lydiate, Nr.
Liverpool, Merseyside L31 4JF.
Mr. & Mrs. M. SCOTT, Calluna, 88 Union Road, Gretna, By Gerisle,
Cumbria CA6 5JJ.
W/R J. GOLDSMITH, Windermere Garden Centre, Kitty Hall, Elterwater,
MO Ambleside, Cumbria.

76

YEAR BOOK 1987

ZONE 5. Humbershire & Yorkshire
W/MO GRAIZELOUND NURSERY, Akeferry Road, Graizelound, Haxey,
Doncaster, S. Yorkshire DN9 2NF.
*W/R G. P. VICKERS, 139 Swinston Hill Road, Dinnington, Sheffield, S.
Yorkshire S31 7RY.

ZONE 6. East Midlands
W/R A. ANNABEL, Springwood, 22 Church Drive, Ravenshead,
Nottingham NG15 9FG.
*W/R CRAIL NURSERIES LTD, Newstead Abbey Park, Linby,
MO Nottingham NG15 8GD.
W/R Col. P. HILTON, James Smith (Scotland Nurseries) Ltd, Tansley,
MO = _— Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 5GF.
* Mr. & Mrs. L. JONES, Heatherscaping, Linden Lodge, Station Road,
Broughton Astley, Leicester.
* G. M. SALMON, Ash Tree Nurseries, 14 Shepherds Way,
Uppingham, Oakham, Leicestershire LE15 9PW.
W Mr. & Mes. J. P. SWAIN, Thatched Cottage, Main Street, Burton
Overy, Leicester LE8 ODL.

ZONE 7. West Midlands
W/R_ J. L. ALLEN, Green Beech, Oxleys Road, Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield,
W. Midlands B76 9PA.
W/R CHASE GROWERS, 521 Pye Green Road, Hednesford, Staffordshire
MO - SW12 4LP.
* Mrs. B. I. EVANS, Ridgway Heather Nursery, Horderly Farm,
Horderly, Craven Arms, Salop SY7 8HP.
*W/ MO Mr. & Mrs. M. EVERETT, Greenacres Nursery, Bringsty, Worcesier
WR6 5TA
W D. KISBY, Westhaven Nursery & Co, 3 Broom Close, Stoney Hill,
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 2NU.
W/R G. OSMOND, Archfield Nursery, Wickwar, Wotton-Under-Edge,
Gloucestershire GL12 8NA.
Mr. & Mrs. M. N. STREATER, Tunnel Lane Nursery, Orleton, Nr.
Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 4HY.
*W/R Mr. & Mrs. R. WARNER, Barncroft Nurseries, Dunwood Lane,
Longsdon, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST9 9QW.
Mrs. H. WARREN, Conifers, 10 Outwoods Street, Burton-on-Trent,
Staffordshire DE14 2PJ.

ZONE 8. Wales
W/R J. D. M. FORD, Beacons Nurseries, Hilltop, Sunnybankj, Brecon,
Powys LD3 7RW.
Mr. & Mrs. E. G. SMITH, Hazel Nursery, Pinged, Burry Port, Dyfed
SA16 OJJ.

Wal

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

ZONE 9. Eastern.
*W/R A. BLOOM, Foggy Bottom, Bressingham, Diss, Norfolk IP22 2AB.
MO
W/R Mr. & Mrs. B. J. BOSLEY, Pandora, Elsing Road, Lyng, Norwich
NR9 5RP.
R/MO CHRIS BOWERS AND SONS, Whispering Trees Nursery,
Wimbotsham, Norfolk PE34 8QB.
Mr. & Mrs. A. G. CLARKE, Birch Lodge, Anchor Lane, Canewdon,
Rochford, Essex SS4 3PB.
Mr. G. J. & Mrs. I. G. DYER, 86 Goshawk Drive, Chelmsford, Essex
CM2 8XP.
* Mrs. I. A. M. FRYE, The Willows, Poors Lane North, Daws Heath,
Thundersley, Essex SS7 2XF.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. B. F. HIPPERSON, Norwich Heather & Conifer Centre,
MO 54a Yarmouth Road, Thorpe, Norwich, Norfolk IP21 4QP.
V. H. MIDDLEDITCH, 43 Holly Road, Kesgrave, Ipswich, Suffolk
IPS 7HX.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. H. B. OAKES, The Nurseries, Pulham St. Mary, Diss,
Norfolk IP21 4QQ.
W Mrs. P. RODWELL, Upminster Lodge Nurseries, Tomkyns Lane,
Upminster, Essex PM14 ITP.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. D. J. SPA ALL, Denbeigh Heather Nurseries, All Saints
MO Road, Creeting St. Mary, Ipswich, Suffolk IP6 8PJ.
Mr. & Mrs. C. J. WHITAKER, 51 Gilmore Way, Great Baddow,
Chelmsford, Essex CM2 7AP.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. S. B. YOUENS, The Gardens, Holkham Park, Wells-next-
the-Sea, Norfolk NR23 1AB

ZONE 10. North Thames
W/R Mr. & Mrs. D. O. CHANDLER, Aldenham Heather Nursery, Round
Bush, Aldenham, Watford, Hertfordshire.
ROBARTS HORTICULTURAL, 2 Fouracres Drive, Hemel
Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP3 9LD

ZONE 11. Southern
W/R Mr. & Mrs. R. W.. S. BIGGS, Ockham House, Bodiam, Robertsbridge,
E. Sussex TN32 5RA
Mr. & Mrs. J. FRANCIS, 37 Stone Lane, Worthing, W. Sussex
BN12 2BA.
R/MO KINGHAM’S GARDEN NURSERIES, 14 Hollington Lane,
Highclere, Newbury, Berkshire RG15 95A
W/R PLAXTOL NURSERIES, Spoute Cottage, Plaxtol, Sevenoaks, Kent
MO TNI15 0QR

R/MO STARBOROUGH NURSEY, Starborough Road, Marsh Green,
Edenbridge, Kent TN7 5RB.

R/MO Mr. & Mrs. C. TAYLOR, Toxward Nursery, Sedgwick Lane,
Horsham, Sussex RH13 6QE.

78

YEAR BOOK 1987

W/R Mr. & Mrs. B. J. THORPE, Strikers Nursery, Stilland Farm,
Chiddingfold, Nr. Godalming, Surrey GU8 4SZ.
W Mrs. J. WHITING, The Old Rectory, Binstead, Nr. Arundel,
Sussex.
W Mr. & Mrs. F. WHYMARK, 2 Heath Villas, Hollywater, Borden,
Hampshire GU35 OAH
*W WINDLESHAM COURT NURSERIES, London Road,
Windlesham, Surrey
Mr. & Mrs. E. A. WOODRUFF, Royal Mires, Lye Green,
Crowborough, E. Sussex TN6 1UU.

ZONE 12. South West
W/R Mr. & Mrs. D. CHALK, Polden Acres, Edington, Bridgwater, Somerset
TA7 9HA.
Mr. & Mrs. R. DRAYSON, Harkwood Acres, Verwood Road, Three
Legged Cross, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 6RP.
W Mr. & Mrs. D. M. EDGE, Forest Edge Nursery, Verwood Road,
Woodlands, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 6LJ.
Mrs. B. ELLIS, West Kington Nurseries, Pound Hill House, West
Kington, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN14 7JG.
W G. H. FARMILOE, Nightinglae Nursery, Embley Ridge, Gardeners
Lane, Romsey, Hampshire SOS OAD.
* FURZEY GARDENS, Minstead, Lyndhurst, Hampshire SO4 7GL.
B. M.GODFRAY, 45 Botany Bay Road, Sholing ,Southampton,
Hampshire SO2 8FE.
HEATHERWOOD NURSERIES, Merley Park Road, Wimborne,
Dorset.
W/R T. A. HOLMES, Pound Lane Nurseries, Pound Lane, Ampfield,
Romsey, Hampshire SOS 9BL
W/R D. G. JOHN, 366 Wallsdown Road, Bournemouth, Dorset
MO BHI! 8PS.

*W/R Mrs. D. H. JONES, Otters’ Court Heathers, West Camel, Somerset
MO BA22 7QF.
Mr. & Mrs. C. A. JUDE, Cotswold, Salisbury Road, Abbots Ann,
Andover, Hampshire SP11 7HX.
W/R R. S. KEW, 1G Beechen Drive, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 4DQ
MO
W Mr. & Mrs. R. KOERPER, Battle House Gardens, Bromham,
Chippenham, Wiltshire SN12EX.
NAKED CROSS NURSERIES, Waterloo road, Corfe Mullen, Wim-
bome, Dorset.
Mr. & Mrs. D. K. PRICE, Orchardleigh Nursery, Botley Road, Bishop
Waltham, Hampshire SO3 1DR.
Mr. & Mrs. H. PRINGLE, 166 Woodlands Road, Ashurst,
Southampton, Hampshire SO4 2AP.

79

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Mr. & Mrs. A. J. SELFE, Copperfield, Chatter Alley, Dogmersfieid,
Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Mr. & Mrs. E. D. SELFE, Kylemor, Crown Gardens, Fleet,
Aldershot, Hampshire.

ZONE 13. Far West
W/R BERRYDOWN HEATHER & CONIFER NURSERIES, Gidleigh,
Chagford, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ13 8HS
W/R Mr. & Mrs. N. FROGGATT, Woodland Nursery, Garras, pebion,
{O Cornwall TR12 6LN.
R/MO H. R. GREGORY, High Cross Nurseries, High Cross, Constantine,
Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 5RT.
*W/R Mr. & Mrs. C. IVENS, Trewince Nurseries, Trewince Lane, St Issey,
Cornwall PL27 7RL.
W/R Mr. & Mrs. R. A. NOYCE, Watering Lane Nursery, Penterwan,
St. Austell, Cornwall PL26 6BE.

ZONE 14. Overseas.
K. W. AYERS, P.O. Box 40, Orland, Maine, U.S.A. 04472
W/R Mr. & Mrs. J. BYWATER, 22 Winchester Avenue, Halifax, Nova
Scotia, Canada B3P 2C8
S. D. K. FRASER, 41665 Cut Off Drive, Lebanon, Oregon 97355,
U.S.A.
K. GILLANDERS, Woodbank Nursery, R.M.B. 303 Kingston,
Tasmania 7150, Australia.
Mrs. R. M. KNIGHT, Heather Acres Inc., 62 Elma-Monte Road,
Elma, Wa. 98541, U.S.A.
W KURT KRAMER, Hauptstrasse 24, 2905 Edewecht-Suddorf, West
Germany.
W JOHN F. LETTS, Foxhollow, 71a Robinson Avenue, Holdens Bay,
Rotorua, New Zealand.
W/R RAES PASCAL, Bierbeek Pleindreef, 2 Heverlee, Belgium 3030.
H. WESTERMANN, D-3045 Bispingen, Baumschulenweg 2, West
Germany.
D. WILSON, 6227 Hopedale Road, R.R.4, Sardis, B.C., Canada.

LOCAL ORGANISERS

ZONE 2. Ireland.

Mrs. E. CALVERT, Mimosa, 10 Manse Road, Newtownards, Co. Down,
Northern Ireland BT23 4TP

Mrs. J. M. S. McCOLLUM, The Orchard, Lucan, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

ZONE 3. North East

Mr. S. COURTENEY, 40 Western Way, Ponteland, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
NE20 9AS.

80

YEAR BOOK 1987

ZONE 4, Merseyside.
Mr. R. H. P. PICKERING, 19 Bushbys Park, Formby, Liverpool L37 2EE.

ZONE 5, Yorkshire

Dr. K. C. BARRACLOUGH, 19 Park Avenue, Chapeltown, Sheffield
S30 4WH.

Hon. Secretary/Treasurer of the Heather Group of the Northern Horticultural
Society, Harlow Car.

ZONE 6. East Midland
Mr. LEIGHTON-JONES, Linden Lodge, Station Road, Broughton Astley,
Leicester L/9 6PU.

ZONE 7. West Midlands
Mrs. D. EVERETT, Greenacres Nursery, Bringsty, Worcester WR5 5TA.

ZONE 10. North Thames
Mr. A. J. STOW, Widmour, Limmer Lane, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
HP12 4QR.

ZONE 11. Southern.
Mr. & Mrs. J. B. VICKERY, “‘Timberly”, Ringley Park Avenue, Reigate, Surrey
RH2 7DN

ZONE 12. South West

Mr. P. L. JOYNER, 84 Kinross Road, Rushington, Totton, Southampton
SO4 4BN.

81

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES

Mr. D. B. OLIVER, 17 Hayclose Crescent, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 7NT
(Chairman).

Mr. P. L. JOYNER, 84 Kinross Road, Rushington, Totton, Southampton
SO4 43BN.

Mrs. P. B. LEE, Birches, Kingswood Firs, Grayshott, Hindhead, Surrey
GU25 6EX.

Mr. D. J. T. MAYNE, 38 Sherrards Way, Barnet, Hertfordshire EN5 2BJ.
Mr. D. H. E. ROPE, Clouds, 38 Vernon Crescent, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire
NGI5 6BL.

Maj.-Gen. P. G. TURPIN, Cottswood, West Clandon, Guildford, Surrey
GU4 7UW.

PUBLICATIONS

Mrs. D. H. JONES, Otters’ Court, West Camel, Somerset BA22 7QF.
(Chairman)

Mr. A. W. JONES, Otters’ Court, West Camel, Somerset BA22 7QF

Mr. P. L. JOYNER, 84 Kinross Road, Rushington, Totton, Southampton SO4
4BN.

Mr. D. B. OLIVER, 17 Haycluse Crescent, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 7NT.

Mr. A. J. STOW, Widmour, Limmer Lane, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
HP12 4QR

TECHNICAL

Mr. D. J. SMALL, Denbeigh, All Saints Road, Creeting St. Mary, Ipswich,
Suffolk IP6 8PJ (Chairman)

Mr. D. CHALK, Polden Acres Gardens, Edington, Bridgwater, Somerset
TA7 7HA

Mrs. D. EVERETT, Greenacres Nursery, Bringsty, Worcester WR6 5TA.
Mr. A. W. JONES, Otter’s Court, West Camel, Somerset BA22 7QF.

Mr. T. A. JULIAN, Lee Wood, Reservoir Road, Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire.
Mr. H. L. NICHOLSON, Farm Cottage, Westcott Road, Dorking, Surrey
RH4 3EB

Mr. T. L. UNDERHILL, Fairlight, Mill Cross, Rattery, South Brent, Devon.
TQ10 9LB.

Mr. G. P. VICKERS, 139 Swinston Hill Road, Dinnington, Sheffield
$31 7RY.

82

OTTERS’ COURT
HEATHERS

West Camel, Nr. Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 7QF
(% mile south of A.303 trunk road to the south-west)

We specialise in a wide range of lime-tolerant
heathers and dwarf conifers and welcome visitors
who wish to see these plants established in our
own garden.

Please cond 2 x 13p in stamps for catalogue or Tel. Marston
Magna 850285

ASH TREE NURSERIES

Our newly established Nursery is located overlooking the Welland
Valley in the beautiful unspoilt Rutland countryside, 4 mile off the
Kettering to Oakham road (A6003) just outside the historic stone built
village of Lyddington on the road which leads to the picturesque Eye-
brook Reservoir.

TOP QUALITY CONTAINER GROWN HEATHERS We have
the widest selection in Rutland. You are welcome to see our newly
established display beds. (For full descriptive list please send stamped
addressed envelope).

We are also growing a wide selection ofp DWARF CONIFERS,
SHRUBS, ALPINES, PERENNIALS, FUCHSIAS,
GERANIUMS and bedding plants in season. We also have fresh
picked soft and top fruit in season.

OPEN DAILY 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Dusk in Winter)
CLOSED on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Ifyou are holidaying in this part of the country or having a day out at
Rutland Water or Rockingham Castle — Why not pay us a visit?

Stoke Road, Lyddington, Near U O87 ham, Oakham,
Leicestershire. Telephone: (0572) 821157

83

BODIAM NURSERY

(HEATHER AND AZALEA CUTTINGS )
at competitive prices |
Wholesale only

Over 150 cultivars

Heathers, dwarf and large conifers, Japanese azaleas, pernettyas,

dwarf rhododendrons, shrubs and alpines for callers
36p in stamps for catalogue.

BODIAM NURSERY
Ockham House, Bodiam, Robertsbridge, East Sussex
TN32 5RA
‘phone: Staplecross (058083) 649

*“HEATHERSCAPING” |
Our Heather and Conifer Nursery and garden is open from
1.30 until 6.00 on weekdays and from 9.00 until 6.00 on
weekends and Bank Holidays.

109a Station Road Telephone: (0455)
Broughton Astley 282505
LEICESTERSHIRE

FOREST EDGE NURSERIES

D. M. & D. M. A. EDGE

WOODLANDS, WIMBORNE, DORSET BH21 6LJ
Tel. 0202 824387
Wholesale supplier of high quality plants to nurseries and | garden

centres.
Member of the British Heather Growers Assoc.

84

BLOOMS OF BRESSINGHAM
LIMITED

You can’t beat Heathers and Conifers for year
round appeal ... and you can’t beat Blooms
plants for consistent quality.

-Bressingham Gardens are renowned for their
wide range of plants obtainable by mail
order.

Bressingham Garden full colour Autumn
1987 catalogue, now available from
Bressingham Gardens, Diss, Norfolk, IP22
2AB at £1.00 (refundable with first order)
available January 1987.

Now you can take the opportunity
to select plants for yourself at the
newly extended

Bressingham Plant Centre

where a wide range of nursery

fresh plants are on display,
including larger specimens of
Conifers. Open 7 days a week.

Blooms of Bressingham Ltd, Bressingham, Diss,
Norfolk IP22 2AB.Telephone: Nursery: Bressingham (037
988) 464

Plant Centre: Bressingham (037 988) 8133

85

PETER VICKERS
THE HEATHER GARDEN

139 Swinston Hill Road, Dinnington
Sheffield S31 7RY
Dinnington 565510

A small homely nursery specialising in Heather, and
Dwarf Conifers. Sound advice on Heather garden
design and customer service.

Open daily — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Monday and Thursday
13p stamp for Catalogue

“GARDEN PROGRAMMES”
Spring, summer, and autumn tours of Devon and Cornwall’s finest
gardens; or independent visits using our programmes.

Comfortable Country House Accommodation. Reductions for groups of 6
or more persons.

Brochure: “Garden Programmes”, Brook House, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 7QT.
Telephone (0822) 854219 (Heather Society MEMBER)

We are the largest specialist wholesale heather growers in Scotland. We produce
over 400,000 plants annually with 70 varieties in 9 cm plots. We supply Garden
Centres, District Councils and Landscapers throughout Scotland and the UK and
can supply heathers by post in strong Correx boxes.

Catalogue and Price List:

HIGHLAND HEATHERS LTD.
ACHAHOISH NURSERY, BY LOCHGILPHEAD,
ARGYLL PA31 8PD
Tel: Ormsary 08803-285

86

D & AH Bveret¢

Greenacres Nursery, Bringsty, Worcester WR6 5TA
Telephone: Bromyard (0885) 82206

Specialists in Heathers and Dwarf Conifers.

Heather Society Members especially welcome, but please

telephone in advance to ensure that someone will be available
to talk to you.

Trewince Nurseries

St. Issey, Cornwall, Tel: 020881 2006

120 varieties of heathers — containerised and bareroot 2 yr. old plants available. Trade
enquiries welcome
SAE for full list

Holden Clough Nursery

(Peter J. Foley)

1927 — GOLDEN JUBILEE — 1987

An old-established nursery growing a wide range of

HEATHERS (over 200 varieties) DWARF CONIFERS,

ALPINES, HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS and
SHRUBS.

Please send £1.00 for our latest catalogue full of interesting
plants and information., Visitors welcome all year. From Dec. to

Feb. please phone beforehand due to possible adverse weather
conditions. Mail order service.

Dept. H.S., Holden, Bolton-by-Bowland, Clitheroe,
Lancashire, BB7 4PF
Telephone: (02007) 615

87

Surzey Gardens

WILL SELWOOD ART AND CRAFT GALLERY
AND ANCIENT COTTAGE 1560 A.D.
MINSTEAD, near LYNDHURST

Tel: Southampton 812464
Displaying HAND-MADE CRAFTS
of a high standard by 100 local
craftsmen and 50 artists. Eight
acres of peaceful glades of
botanical interest throughout
the year. Including large areas
of many varieties of Heathers.
Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(Dusk in Winter)
Adult £1.50. Child 75p Mar-Oct.
Adult 90p. Child 40p.Nov-Feb.
10% reduction for parties of 30 — by prior arrangement
(Proceeds to maintenance and various charities)

BLAIRHOYLE NURSERY

(on edge of Trossachs)
Blairhoyle, Port of Menteith, Stirling

(on A 873 between Stirling and Aberfoyle)
Telephone 087 75 669

High quality container grown Heathers at competitive
prices. Also small selective varieties of conifers, alpines
and shrubs.

View our display beds at your leisure in pleasant
Surroundings. SS

88

Barncroft Nurseries

(R. Warner. S. Warner B.Sc. (Hort) M.I. Hort)

Plants for heather gardens

Our policy is to grow all types of plants which we believe associate
well with heathers, and which may be required to provide the com-
‘plete heather garden — whether it is a single small bed or many
acres in extent.

In furtherance of our policy we grow:

~ CONIFERS — over 400 varieties in various sizes — from Abies

to Tsuga.

SHRUBS and TREES — over 300 varieties including extensive
range of ericaceous subjects, and of course HEATHERS, more
than 400 varieties selected from the 800 or so varieties of heathers
in our garden and stockbeds and which are now available in three
sizes: standard in 8cm? pots; larger size plants in 12.5cm pots and
specimen size plants in 23cm pots.

RETAIL OPENING HOURS: The gardens (which extend to
over an acre)and nursery are open every Friday, Saturday and
Sunday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. (or earlier dusk)

(WHOLESALE AND LANDSCAPE CUSTOMERS
Monday - Thursday please)

Dunwood Lane, Longsdon, Stoke-on-Trent
(Off A53, 3 miles west of Leek)
Phone Leek (0538) 384310, 372111
SORRY, STRICTLY NO POSTAL TRADE
Plants are obtainable only by collection from the nursery

89

Once Robin Hood strolled this way,

traffic’s now taken up with Heather trade, to

Crail Nurseries come to find, Heathers of many
kinds.

244 varieties currently grown by the
thousand to help satisfy the growing

number of Heather enthusiasts.

Collections of 10 supplied by post

Visitors welcome by appointment.

CRAIL NURSERIES LTD
NEWSTEAD ABBEY PARK
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Tel: Mansfield (0623) 792866

Business Hours Monday to Friday.
9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Catalogue on request.

90

RIDGWAY HEATHER NURSERY
HORDERLEY FARM
HORDERLEY
Nr. CRAVEN ARMS (off A489)
Shropshire

High quality container grown Heather propagated from our own
Heather garden. Excellent range of Dwarf Conifers.
Collections only | Closed Mondays

Heather Society Members particularly welcome

Mrs. Brenda EVANS,
CRAVEN ARMS 2248

Speyside Heather/Garden Centre

Dulnain Bridge, Inverness-shire, Scotland PH26 3PA

Where better to view approx. 300 varieties of Heathers than in the heart
of the Central Highlands of Scotland? Our Centre is situated in the
shadow of Cairngorm Mountains — a short walk from the River
Spey.

TEAROOM — Open Spring, Summer and Autumn

(Betty and David Lambie) Tel. 047 985 359

M. G. FRYE HEATHERS

The Willows, Poors Lane North, Daws Heath,
Thundersley, Essex SS7 2XF
Plants despatched throughout UK
CATALOGUE FREE (Send Stamp)
NURSERY OPEN DAILY 8 am. - Dusk
except Wednesdays
Telephone: SOUTHEND (0702) 558467

91

Windlesham Court Nursery

London Road (A.30)
Windlesham, Surrey.
Ascot (0990) 21456

Visits by Heather Society Groups
welcome but by appointment please

PENNYACRE NURSERIES

Heathers and Dwarf Conifers

Nearly 200 varieties available individually or in collections. Despatched by
first class post. S.A.E. for descriptive list to:
PENNYACRE NURSERIES, SPRINGFIELD, FIFE, KY15 5RU

If you cannot call at:

KANE BROTHERS NURSERY

|
| 92 Dundrinne Road, CASTLE WELLAN,
Co. Down BT31 9EX

We will send Plants BY POST to anywhere (almost!)

92

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