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Erica x darleyensis |
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| Common name |
Dale Darley heath |
| Family |
ericaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z6-8) |
| Flowers |
lilac (winter-early spring) |
| Size |
12" |
| Light |
sun |
| Cultural notes |
likes acidic soil, well-drained but not too dry |
This heath, a hybrid between Erica carnea and Erica erigena, is the first plant to bloom in our garden - bar none. The one we have, not a named variety, isn't a stunner and is planted in our side garden, which we don't traverse much in winter - so we often overlook its tiny blooms. But it really is nice, especially when you take a look up close, where you will also notice the glossy dark-green needly foliage.
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Our garden doesn't provide the ideal, acidic soil conditions this plant craves, which may be why it just survives, not increasing in size through the years. Still, ours has been with us for well over ten years now, through both harshly cold winters and soppy wet ones, so I can't complain about its hardiness.
The plant is clearly evergreen, and has brittle branches that easily break off when moved about. That explains why another plant we had, set along the driveway, didn't survive. It gets a bit messy-looking without pruning, with dead branches distracting from the fresh green ones.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Erica x darleyensis
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| (Mrs.)Dale Georgina Darley | May 25, 2005 | How lovely-a plant with my name.Having been teased for many years(Dale is a very uncommon girl's name in England) I kept my maiden name anyway,and at last discovered a Google hit that is not Darley Dale(where a friend lives, and near a school I attended). |
| Nanette | May 10, 2006 | Is this plant deer resistent? I have an ideal soil environment, but fight the deer to keep my plants. I am also in the St. Louis, MO area and am concerned about the zoning for this plant.
Thanks
Although I have no specific experience in the deer-resistance area (deer haven't found my garden yet), I do know that sheep grazing is essential to maintain natural heather and heath landscapes - they eat the tree shoots (and prevent them from growing to maturity and casting shade) while leaving the heather alone. I would think that bodes well for deer browsing as well. |
| Ann Phillips | Mar 15, 2009 | Yes, I just bought a few 'darley's and the tag said they were deer resistant... |
| Jody | Apr 29, 2009 | I love in Lenexa KS (suburb of Kansas City). I was told this plant is hardy in Zone 5. Now, I beginning to wonder. This is a beautiful little plant - we just planted several around our water garden - I hope it will survive our Zone 5b. What do you think?
Ours certainly hasn't had any trouble dealing with any weather our zone 6 climate has thrown at it in the past 10 years. So I wouldn't be surprised if it could survive even colder temperatures. |
| Kay | May 03, 2009 | I just bought three of these plants because I thought they were really pretty. On the tag it said hardy in zone 4,-20 to - 30 degrees, we are in Michigan and I thought perhaps it was an error that it said it blooms from December to May and maybe it was visa-versa. Of course when I looked it up it was not, it apparently blossoms all winter long. Now I am thinking, will this plant really be blossoming in Michigan in the winter, regardless if it says zone 4,which we are. Does any one have input on this?I have them in a large planter box. I am thinking, maybe I should take them back. Also, that means they are just about done with their flowers now. |
| Marie | Sep 14, 2009 | I have had one of these for 4-5 years now (Zone 5). Mine stays green all winter, but does not have blossoms during winter months. Mine normally flowers around April-May through June or early July. The one I bought did not have a tag, so I didn't know about the December to May thing. |
| Linda | Sep 12, 2010 | For every five I plant, I usually lose two, but I keep at it. They are very hardy if they survive the first season. The deer won't touch them. I'm in east Tennessee (6b-7a)where we have severe winters and brutal summers. They're nice interplanted with lavender. |
| Carl | Jun 29, 2011 | We just planted Mediterranean Pink about 6 weeks ago. Al but one lokks great. One has developed dead needles on the inner old parts of the plant. We put bark mulch around them Can any one hlp me? |
| Anne | Apr 02, 2022 | Erica x darleyensis Mediterranean White is the variety which survives and blooms in upstate New York with our -20 degree winters. The Med. Pink does not survive nor have any of the many other species and varieties I have tried. |
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