Calluna vulgaris Rasta Girls Rosa Claire - Heather

Calluna vulgaris Rasta Girls® 'Rosa Claire' is a variety of summer heather with an astonishing trailing habit. Its needle-like foliage, in a vibrant green, is evergreen. In September and October, it is covered in light pink closed flower buds, like a multitude of pearls along the foliage. As they do not open, they withstand bad weather well and remain decorative for a long time. Instead of being upright, the stems are trailing. This heather is ideal for hanging baskets or potted plantings. In the garden, it behaves like a creeping plant, beautifully covering the stones of a rockery.

Calluna vulgaris is the only species in the genus Calluna belonging to the Ericaceae family. In its natural habitat, it is the dominant vegetation of barren heathlands in the cold regions of the United Kingdom and Northern Europe. 'Rosa Claire' is an evergreen shrub that forms small bushy plants with a slightly tousled, spreading and trailing habit, reaching 40cm (16in) in height and width at maturity. Its growth rate is quite slow. Decorative all year round, it is adorned with a beautiful, long-lasting autumn flowering, with flower buds densely grouped on compact and flexible spikes. Its foliage is evergreen and scaly, similar to that of a small conifer.

The Calluna Rasta Girls® 'Rosa Claire' is an original heather that can be planted in any acidic, moist to dry soil, in full sun or partial shade. Stunning when planted en masse with other species and varieties, it pairs well with dwarf asters and small grasses in a rockery, on a bank, or in a casual border, where its flexible stems weave between plants. In an ericaceous bed, it can be planted at the base of witch hazels, pieris, or Skimmia japonica. On a patio or balcony, it can be planted in hanging baskets and pots, gracefully cascading for autumnal floral compositions with small perennials and bulbs.

Calluna vulgaris can withstand moderate grazing. It represents an important source of food for sheep and deer when snow covers the vegetation. It is capable of regenerating after a fire. In the past, this plant was considered magical and used in white magic rituals; it was attributed protective powers, as in the Breton heaths, where it is said to ward off ghostly spirits. Calluna is also an ingredient of gruit, an aromatic composition used in brewing beer before the use of hops in the Middle Ages. Its flowering tops have been used in herbal medicine for a very long time, as they are reputed to "dissolve stones in the bladder".