Within the very species-rich family of heather plants, there are many species that are now also native to German gardens and balconies, but not all of them are hardy here. The two most common heather plants, the common heather and the winter or snow heather, are usually very insensitive to German winters.
Heather is hardy
Winter flowering heather in the garden and on the balcony
The winter heather or snow heather is particularly popular, as it brings color to the cold season as a winter bloomer. The plant originally comes from the mountains of southern and central Europe, where it can be found growing wild at altitudes of up to 3000 meters. As a result, the snow heath is ideally suited to cold and frosty weather due to its natural origin. Only on the balcony does the plant need a light winter protection so that the roots in the planters do not freeze to death so quickly.
Hardy heather
In the table below you will find an overview of commonly sold heather plants, some of which are very hardy, but some are only partially hardy. In this context, "conditionally hardy" means that the plants need suitable protection in winter or, in very cold regions, are best brought in over the winter and overwintered frost-free. In such a case, good winter protection can consist of spruce or fir branches, which are simply covered over the plants or in their root area on the ground.
| heather species | Latin designation | hardiness |
|---|---|---|
| heather | Calluna vulgaris | Well |
| winter heath | Erica carnea | Well |
| moorland | Erica spiculifolia | Well |
| bell heather | Erica tetralix | Well |
| Grape Heath | Erica vagans | conditional |
| Gray Heath | Erica cinerea | conditional |
| English heath | Erica x darleyensis | conditional |
| Oldenburg Heath | Erica x oldenburgensis | frost hardy down to -15 °C |
| crowberry | emptrum nigrum | very good |
| Irish heath | Daboecia cantabrica | conditional |
| tree heath | Erica arborea | conditional |
tips
Prune the snow heather and common heather after the flowering period so that the plants do not bare from below and also sprout vigorously again in the next period.