Plant Finder

Moana Nursery High Desert Plant Finder & Guide

Other Names:  Bud Bloomers Scotch Heather, Ling Heather

Group/Class:  Garden Girls Series

Description:

An eye catching variety with dark pink closed buds that sparkle above green foliage for a long period; a small, bushy plant with a wide and upright habit; very particular about growing conditions, needs acidic organic soil, will die in anything else

Ornamental Features

Garden Girls® Rosita Heather has masses of beautiful spikes of pink flowers at the ends of the branches from mid summer to late fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. It has grayish green evergreen foliage. The needles remain grayish green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Garden Girls® Rosita Heather is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Garden Girls® Rosita Heather is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover

Planting & Growing

Garden Girls® Rosita Heather will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. This plant should be periodically fertilized throughout the active growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have sandy, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.