Anyone ever try planting heather?

[hedgehog]

All the plants I've tried came by mail order from two separate places. The y all looked good upon arrival.

So, I planted the first group. They turned brown and died.

I mulched the area with wood chis and planted more. They died.

So, i put some straw from the chicken hose down and planted more. They died.

So, i figured maybe the chicken manure in the straw was too strong, tilled it in, and planted some more. They died.

So, I planted another set and laid in some top mulch of clean straw. They died.

This is in an area that gets bright sun all day. The mulch keeps the ground moist and we get a lot of rain anyways.


Any ideas?

[bvar22]

1. Yeah,

....but she kept throwing off all the dirt!
.
.
.
Sorry, my bad.

[hedgehog]

2. Yeah, I don't think that's the problem here!

:spray:

[sazemisery]

3. Some reference

Maybe your soil was too rich.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Grow-and-Care-For-a-Heather-Plant&id=2071454

Heather plants are hardy, colorful, low-growing perennial shrubs native to the heaths, moors, and woodlands or Europe and Asia Minor. Well suited to marginal pastures, heathers are low-maintenance plants that can thrive in acidic soil with little fertilizer in and near-drought conditions.

The evergreen plants provide year-round displays of color from flowers and leaves. Depending on the type of heather plant , the flowers bloom between July and November and come in pink, lavender, white, magenta, amethyst, purple and red. If a gardener plans it right, a field full of different types of heather will remain colorful for a longtime, with new plants blooming just when others begin to fade.

Just as important as flower color is the foliage color, which can be found in pink, red, copper, bronze, gold, silvery gray, and every shade of green imaginable. They keep their color though the winter, breaking up the dreary tans and browns of winter landscapes.

CLIMATE: The colder, damper climates of the New England and the Pacific Northwest are well suited to growing heather, however, and gardeners in the northern Midwest, Great Plains, and Rocky Mountain areas should have fair success.

SOIL: The heather plant will do just fine in rocky soil, making them good candidates for coastal hillsides where few plants grow. Slightly acidic soil with a pH of 4.5 - 5.5 will work well for this plant.

SUN: As a general guideline, heather plants should get four to six hours of sunlight daily. So it is best to plant it in a place with enough sunlight throughout the year. The more sunshine this plant receives, the brighter are its leaves and flowers. Not enough sun will cause the plant to look leggy and dull.

SPACING: When you are ready to start growing a heather plant, consider the space a mature plant needs to fully develop. On average, these plants grow up to twenty inches tall and three feet wide.

PLANTING: The best time to plant the heather is in the spring or beginning of fall. Seed, division and cuttings can start new heather plants. If starting by cuttings, the best time to take them is in summer when the wood is half-ripe.

WATERING: After getting the plants into the ground, water them until the ground is moist. Follow this watering ritual twice a week for a few months. As with most plants, do not over water them. If the soil remains too wet the plant will suffer and possibly die.

The heather plant is hardy and resistant to insects, common diseases, and small burrowing rodents.

[hedgehog]

4. I think I will test the souil and perhaps add some acid. I might be able

to get hold of some pine needle mulch.

[Melissa G]

5. Yes, but in my heart of hearts, I knew it was hopeless when I did it.

Alkaline soil. Texas heat. It was a present. I thought I might possibly be able to keep it alive. I was wrong.

[dugaresa]

6. i grew it successfully and had a patch of it cuz I wanted to be a romantic

and have my patch of heather, like i had my patches of lavender.

the heather I had was in a clay soil that had become "loosened" by way of loads of mulch over years. No fertilizer, no compost, no nothing. Did I know this at the time. No. The soil in my area tends to be acidic so reading the threads below, I got lucky.