Most heather plants - which include both the summer-flowering common heather and the winter-flowering snow heather - prefer acidic soil and sunny locations. They can be propagated by sinkers, but propagation by cuttings is the fastest and most effective method.
Heather can be propagated by cuttings, for example
Sow heather
The common heather in particular can also be propagated by sowing, although you need a lot of patience. Heathers are very slow growers, so it takes a few years for the seedlings to grow into sizeable plants. Sow the fine seeds in March/April in acidic, sandy soil. Do not cover the seeds, because common heather needs light to germinate. Keep the substrate slightly moist.
Cut cuttings in summer
Heather cuttings are not cut, but snapped. A piece of bark tongue remains on the cracked cuttings, which, due to the high concentration of growth hormones it contains, supports the cuttings in rooting. The best time to propagate cuttings is July.
- Select a few side shoots about five to eight centimeters long,
- which if possible have neither flowers nor flower buds
- and should also come off directly from the main drive.
- Tear it off carefully downwards,
- so that a tongue of bark sticks from the main shoot.
- The cuttings are immediately placed in planting trays with a
- Mixture of sand, peat and bog soil
- and covered with either a translucent lid or foil.
- The substrate is moistened beforehand and kept moist for the next few weeks.
- If it is very hot, it is better to put the planter in the shade.
After about three weeks the cuttings will be rooted and you can remove the cover.
Propagating heather by sinkers
Even easier, but more tedious, is propagation via sinkers. These are also basically clones of the mother plant, whereby they are not cut like cuttings, but remain connected to the mother plant until they root - almost like an "umbilical cord".
- Choose side shoots that have no flowers or buds.
- These should easily bend down to the floor.
- Dig a small hollow in the ground below.
- Slightly score the sinker in the area to be rooted.
- Plant it in the ground with the scored point facing down.
- Weight the area down with a stone or bend a wire over it.
- Keep the substrate slightly moist.
As soon as the rooting has taken place - you will recognize this by the fact that the plant develops new shoots - you can separate them from the mother plant and plant them separately.
tips
If possible, do not water the young heather plants with calcareous tap water, but rather use stagnant tap water or rainwater.