Friday, February 5, 2021

Erica arborea, I swoon...

There's a garden nearby that I visited several years ago and think of ever so often. I remembered it's general location, but couldn't manage to find it—that is until a few weeks ago when I was out anger walking. Surely you know anger walking? It's when you're REALLY upset about something and need to get out and walk it off. Anyway, turns out I'd walked right by this place a few times, except I was on the other side of the street and the plants in the hellstrip have grown so much there's no way I would have recognized the garden, if not for the Erica arborea...

Not that I knew that's what it was when I first saw it, nope, ID came from those more knowledgeable than I who commented on the original post, where these photos (that one above and the two below) came from.

It's kinda crazy cool isn't it?

So that ^ was then (August 2014) and this is now. I couldn't get a good overall shot because of parked cars...

But it's safe to say the plant has grown significantly...

And now, because I am taking a deep dive into the past and Erica arborea, here are three photos from my 2015 visit to Old Hurlburt School Gardens...in that post I asked "Erica arborea? Perhaps 'Albert's Gold'?"



And here's a photo from June of 2019 when I spotted an Erica arborea in a neighbor's hellstrip when on a HPSO Study Weekend stop...

So after all this you may be asking if I've got an Erica arborea in my garden? The answer is, yes! Planted in 2016 this Erica arborea var. alpina, it was just a tiny thing when it went in, but it's grown significantly. Photo from 2018...

And a 2019 image...

You may be wondering why no current photo? Well because it's raining hard out there right now and I don't feel like venturing out to get drenched! Trust me it's still there and looking great. So great in fact that I added another, but it's still just a tiny thing—less than a foot tall. Here's what The Desert Northwest says about this species: "Too cool! There are a lot of tree heaths out there, but this one is special because it's actually totally hardy west of the Cascades. This species grows to 6' tall and wider with soft green, plume-like evergreen foliage. In spring the plant is covered with beautiful white bell flowers. This plant is a must for any Mediterranean or xeric garden and is related to the truly treelike heaths of the highlands of tropical Africa. It's easily accommodated in partial to full sun and any reasonably well-drained soil, and hardy to at least 5 °F."

And then last fall I finally bought an Erica arborea 'Estrella Gold' after lusting after it for quite some time. It's still in a container...

And I will need to think very carefully about where I plant it, because some say it can get to be 8-ft tall and nearly as wide. You might even say it will get big enough to hide an entire garden if you're walking on the other side of the street...

Weather Diary, Feb 10: Hi 47, Low 40/ Precip .03 

All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

21 comments:

  1. I like how you ended the post, ("big enough to hide an entire garden if you're walking on the other side of the street..."), in the same way it began. Nicely done.
    I wondered if you would mention that baby 'Estrella Gold' in the container, which I remember clearly from last fall. Still looking wonderful and could probably stay in the pot a while longer. Regarding the Erica arborea alpina: it looks immaculate. Do you pruny it? Sheer the blooms off?

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    1. Yes I agree that it could stay containerized for awhile, and since I don't have a large garden it very well may...

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    2. Oh, and regarding your question about pruning or sheering I have done neither. It's had a few small blooms appear but nothing major.

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  2. Amusing to be oblivious to it after all this time, just because you walk on the other side. Just shows how effective it is too in screening. Beautiful looking plant that looks so tactile too. Wish we could grow this, but I suspect our soil is too alkaline for it. Hope that anger walk was neutralising enough.

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  3. A beautiful plant: "kinda crazy cool" is a good way to describe it. Interesting how much the one grew in front of the garden you'd visited. I wonder if they intentionally wanted it as a privacy screen for the house. The original hellstrip arrangement is, indeed, nifty.

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    1. That's a good question, if so they've achieved the goal.

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  4. I have one that has overwintered successfully but I want to move it as it is being smothered by the melianthus. Do you know if it is easy to move and would now be a good time to do it or should I wait until spring?

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    1. I really have no idea, you might ask Evan.

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  5. I put one in our herb garden in summer of 2004, without carefully reading the information on the label about how big it would get. Now I have to whack it back every year to be able to get past it. 8' x 8' does appear to be the size it is determined to be. But I love it.

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    1. Good to know that you are able to whack it back, I fear that's what I will be doing as well.

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  6. 'Anger walking,' oh yeah, definitely beneficial!

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  7. I really "need" to try an Erica. I can't say I've ever seen the plants in my immediate area (i.e. the garden centers I frequented most often pre-pandemic within an hour's commute) but there's a good chance I could find one somewhere within a 3-hour drive north. Someday soon I hope!

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  8. In my nascent gardening days, I planted one passed along from my sister’s MIL (incidentally, the very first person I knew who was a member of HPSO) on my front slope. I had no idea it would get as big as it did over the years. The current owners of the house have reworked that slope bed a few times, but the Erica remains, now in the partial shade of the Madrone I also planted. It’s pretty cool to be able to walk past and check it out even to this day. It’s probably 15 years old - or more! Maybe I need to try one in my Astoria garden?

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  9. Very cool plant especially the gold form. Love it complements the gold evergreens in the background. Was unaware heaths were native to Africa. Always thought of them as more from the British Isles.

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  10. Erica arborea, along with Viburnum tinus and Quercus suber (cork oak) are the dominant plants in species in Cork oak woodlands that run from Spain down and across North Africa. So, add a Cork oak and some Viburnum minus to give them company.

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  11. Had no idea an Erica could get so large. Thank you for a complete botanical surprise!

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