Heathland heather - Erica cinerea C.G Best

Erica cinerea 'C.G Best' is a hardy undershrub and one of the most beautiful varieties, with its hundreds of small dark pink bells emerging from a prostrate clump of medium green foliage. The flowering period is long, from July to October, announcing the arrival of autumn. It forms a long-lasting cushion with a very natural appearance. It is a plant of dry slopes and light woods, requiring acidic and well-drained soil to thrive.

Erica cinerea 'C.G Best' belongs to the Ericaceae family. It is an English variety of the wild form Erica cinerea, native to western Europe, where it grows in heathland and siliceous woods. The cultivar 'C.G Best' forms a low and dense bush, with prostrate and tortuous growth, with a height of 35 cm (13.8 in) and a spread of 45 cm (17.7 in). The stiff, low and spreading ends of its twisted branches stand up, revealing an ash-colored and pubescent bark, covered with tiny linear medium green glabrous leaves. Its small bright pink to red bell-shaped, whorled flowers, measuring from 4 to 5 mm (0.2 in) long, are grouped in small elongated clusters at the top of leafy stems. They appear in the middle of summer and last until October, and are popular with bees. The evergreen foliage is medium green and glossy, becoming slightly bronze in autumn.

In a peaty soil rockery, 'C.G Best' enjoys a sunny situation, but not in scorching sun. Plant alongside other heathers, such as Erica carnea, Erica darleyensis, and Erica vagans. To add a different element to a planting scheme, introduce grasses to lighten the effect, such as Deschampsia cespitosa 'Northern Lights', Deschampsia flexuosa 'Tatra Gold', Molinia caerulea 'Variegata', and Molinia caerulea 'Moorhexe'. They can also be mixed in a low and shady bed with andromedas, bearberries, cassiope or Lithodora fruticosa. In acidic soil, heathers form beautiful carpets at the base of taller shrubs, such as mountain laurel, rhododendrons, brooms, deciduous azaleas, and burnet rose. Erica cinerea is also a medicinal plant, used for its antiseptic, urinary and diuretic properties as well as to eliminate excess uric acid.

While heathers, especially those of the Erica genus, are associated with the humid Atlantic heathlands of the oceanic north facade (Brittany, Ireland, Scotland), there are also heathers from dry climates and limestone soils. But one of the richest areas in heathers is located in South Africa. In the Cape region, there is a vegetation formation on acid soil called Fynbos, which includes nearly 625 species of heathers out of the 740 that exist in the world.