Heathers

‘Isle of Hirta’

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Lavender (H3) flowers, VIII; yellow-green foliage in winter, turning golden yellow with red at the base of the leaves in summer; height 10–15cm; spread 26–30cm. Attractive plant but very slow growing.

Wild-collected (collector’s no. K43); found on Hirta, St Kilda, by R. J. Brien (Pitcairngreen Heather Farm, Perth, Scotland) in 1966; introduced by the National Trust for Scotland by 1973, and until 2000 named ‘Hirta’, a name that contravenes the ICNCP (1995, Art. 17.9).

Named after the Island where found

‘Isobel Frye’

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Pink (H8) flowers, VIII–IX; yellow-green foliage overlaid with greyed orange darkening to red-orange in winter; spreads reasonably rapidly giving good ground-cover; height 10–15cm; spread 21–25cm. Named after the finder’s wife.

‘Isobel Hughes’

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❁ White flowers, VIII–X, abundant; bright green foliage; upright, slightly taller than the double whites; height 31–45cm; spread 31–45cm.

Seedling from ‘Alba Plena‘; raised at Bearsden, Glasgow, Scotland, by Mrs Isobel Hughes about 1971.

Named after the finder.

‘Hamlet Green’

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Mauve (H2) flowers, VIII–IX; yellowish grey-green foliage turning orange, yellow and green in winter; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. A very unusual and distinctive heather.

Found by Albert Turner (The Hamlet, Hall Green, Birmingham, England) in 1972; introduced by Denbeigh Heather Nurseries (Creeting St Mary, Ipswich, Suffolk) in 1978.

Named after Albert Turner’s house.

‘Hammondii ‘

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White flowers, VIII–IX; mid-green foliage; vigorous; height 31–45cm; spread 46–60cm. A very old cultivar, but still one of the best.

Introduced by 1850; listed by John Frazer (Leyton, Essex, England) in 1866, and by Lawson Seed & Nursery Co. (Edinburgh, Scotland) in 1874.

‘Hammondii Aureifolia’

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White flowers, VIII–X; light green foliage with yellow shoot-tips in spring and early summer; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm. Keep well pruned for maximum effect.

Found by James Smith (Darley Dale, Derbyshire, England); introduced by James Smith in 1925.

The derivation is not clear; perhaps a sport on Calluna vulgaris ‘Hammondii’ with golden foliage, but more likely to be a seedling from ‘Hammondii’.

Named from aureus = golden yellow; folius = leaf.

‘Hammondii Rubrifolia’

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Lavender (H3) flowers, VIII–X; red tipped young growth in spring; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm. Keep well pruned.

Sport on ‘Hammondii Aureifolia‘; introduced by Maxwell & Beale (Broadstone, Dorset, England) in 1938.

Named from ruber = red; folius = leaf. An allusion to the parent plant.

‘Harlekin’

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White flowers, VIII–IX; bright yellow-green foliage throughout the year, flecked with bright yellow; compact; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm. Recommended.

‘Harry Gibbon’

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❁ Shell-pink (H16) flowers, IX–XI; dark green foliage; vigorous, erect; height 46–60cm; spread 61–75cm.

Wild-collected; found on the North York Moors, England, by Harry Gibbon of Messrs R. V. Roger Ltd (Pickering, Yorkshire); introduced by R. V. Roger Ltd by 1979.

Named after the finder who was a gardener on the staff of R. V. Roger.