Once you witness the blazing intensity of this bushy mat-forming beauty there’s no disputing its name. Summer paints sun-kissed gold and orange shades on dense needle-shaped foliage bejeweled with late blooming soft lavender-colored flowers, while frosty nights imbue radiant dark crimson reds to heat up the coldest winter day. ‘Blazeaway’ can be massed near Calluna vulgaris ‘Firefly’ and Calluna vulgaris ‘Wickwar Flame’ and juxtaposed against the dark greenery of Erica cinerea ‘Purple Beauty’ for a fulgent quilt-like spectacle.

Blooms August–September

Size: 12" high x 15" – 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

This relatively new small-sized Heather makes a prismatic four season statement. Known as a ‘bud bloomer’ producing copious plump buds that don’t actually open, ‘Bonita’s snug tidy hummock signals late summer with gorgeous long-lasting reddish magenta buds. Stunning saffron, burnt orange and old gold shades enliven the fine-textured foliage and when cold weather arrives bronze tones provide additional cozy accents.

Blooms August–September

Size: 12" – 18" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Named for the Oregon nursery where it originated, this reliable American cultivar offers striking crimson flowers that nearly obscure its low mound of handsome greenery. ‘Corbett’s Red’ is a compact, spreading Heather whose richly hued blooms can be partnered with Spiraea ‘Ogon’.

Blooms August–September

Size: 12" high x 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

With full bodied colors similar to a fine Pinot Noir, this enticing beauty queen flaunts the darkest hued flower of all Callunas. Deep red buds reveal showy and plentiful, semidouble dark cherry blooms that shade to ruby amid a good-looking, compact forest-green silhouette. Earning Holland’s prestigious Gold Medal award, ‘Dark Beauty’ will beckon you to her side whether she’s poised in the rockery, along a pathway or in a container.

Blooms August–October

Size: 8" – 10" high x 14" – 16" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Celebrating some of the most vibrant brick-red foliage among the species, ‘Firefly’ never fails to snap us out of a gray winter-day funk. Sensational warm shades ranging from salmon to terracotta suffuse the leaves the rest of the year, while deep mauve flowers spangle its dense upright frame in late summer. A champion of Britain’s sought-after AGM, this vividly colored Heather merits a choice niche in your garden.

Blooms August–September

Size: 18" high x 20" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Welcoming spring, young growing tips dress up with striking pink and fiery red hues that look resplendent against the more mature dark green foliage. Lavender-colored flowers make a late summer appearance and extend this upright cultivar’s lively display of color.

Blooms August–September

Size: 12" high x 20" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Named for the owner of the former British nursery Maxwell & Beale, this shapely AGM recipient has graced gardens since 1925 and remains nearly everyone’s favorite Calluna. Small linear gray-green leaves clothe a compact dense-growing habit that promotes upright spiky racemes of lovely shell-pink double flowers. Emphasizing soft hues, ‘H. E. Beale’s profuse long-lasting pastel blooms blend with summertime color schemes, and in winter the mauve-infused evergreen foliage further extends the soothing tones.

Blooms July–September

Size: 18" high x 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Without a doubt, this AGM winner plays host to the most lovely double white flowers in the genus. Slowly opening, tiny buds reveal long, downward curving frosty blooms, illuminating the fine textured, bright green foliage that possesses a mounding habit, and in winter, bronze dipped tips.

Blooms July – August

Size: 16" high x 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Forming a dense low mat of showy bright green foliage, ‘Martha Herman’ is outstanding as a foil or accent with other Heathers and Heaths. Snow white flowers and horizontal spread are the icing on the cake. A real find!

Blooms July–August

Size: 12" high x 2-1/2' wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

With a nod to its name, this tailored low spreading Calluna serves up scarlet spring growth, then gilt, copper and lime laden leaves for the warmer months along with tiny pale mauve late summer flowers. Lucent colors announce winter in orange and red shades, easily igniting a bleak chilly day. Rarely offered and slow growing, ‘Multicolor’ can be planted alongside dark green evergreen companions, tucked amid rocks or massed atop a wall.

Blooms August–September

Size: 6" high x 12" – 15" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Offering a clean and classic look in the garden, this Calluna’s frosty-white spires make prized additions to fresh or dried arrangements. Later to flower than most Heathers, the elegant fall blooms are showcased against attractive deep green foliage on upright branches. For varied forms, its pert stance can be coupled with Acaena saccaticupula’s low-lying, silvery-blue leaves.

Blooms September–October

Size: 16" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Distinctive for its opulent finery, 'Red Star' flashes deep purplish red double blooms on long upright flower spikes near summer's end, earning this attractive somewhat open growing Calluna its name. Tiny dapper leaves craft a dark forest green foil that offsets the vivid blossoms and counterposes lime and golden-leafed Heathers, such as Calluna vulgaris 'Blazeaway' to great effect.

Blooms August–September

Size: 12" – 18" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Heralding handsome woolly gray foliage throughout the year, this knightly cultivar is yet another J. W. Sparkes introduction. Colder weather paints violet tinges on the leaves, while late summer finds upright branches studded with purple flowers near the tips. Plant ‘Silver Knight’ alongside deep green companions such as Calluna vulgaris ‘Dark Beauty’ and Erica ‘Rackliff’ and a captivating contrast is yours to enjoy.

Blooms August–September

Size: 20" high x 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Bursting with lush growth in spring, ‘Sister Anne’s gray-green foliage makes a composed backdrop for her dainty light pink flowers. Cold weather adds a hint of purple to the dense low-mounding form that can be ensconced along pathways or tucked into rocky nooks.

Blooms July–September

Size: 6" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

New foliage growth blazes orange-yellow, maturing to deep green, with medium pink flower spikes on a loosely mounding form.

Blooms July–August

Size: 20" high x 2-1/2' wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Way back in 1938, Miss Isabel Young, who was nicknamed Tib, happened upon this exceptional Heather in Scotland’s Pentland Hills. Unparalleled as a cut flower, either fresh or dried, the splendid rosy-crimson double blooms, borne on long, erect slender stems, festoon a compact bushy mound of fine textured dark green foliage. Eventually claiming a coveted AGM, ‘Tib’ has withstood the test of time and promises to be a champion in your garden, especially when set against the varied foliage of other Callunas such as Calluna ‘Firefly’ and Calluna ‘Sister Anne’.

Blooms July–September

Size: 18" – 2' 0" high x 2' 0" – 2-1/2' wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

With so many upright and horizontal stems, this Heather has an especially wild appearance in its youth. When it matures, however, it develops into a dense, tight mound of unusual foliage: burnt orange-yellow on the upper half and lime-green below, where it is protected from the sun.

During the winter months the color intensifies, making the shrub appear almost as though it’s on fire. During the summer, the color spectrum is extended with lavender- pink flowers blooming along the upper portion of the stems.

Blooms late July–August

Size: 15" high x 2-1/2' wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

A delightful melding of warm colors, ‘Winter Chocolate’ is a year-round marvel in our Heather garden. Radiantly bedecked with chartreuse, chocolate and golden hues for winter, spring’s new growth brings creamy salmon-red tips. As the days grow longer, the foliar shades broaden to an alluring range of orange, pink and yellow, toned by bright green. As if this isn’t enough, soft lavender blossoms just about engulf the plant in late summer.

Blooms August–October

Size: 12" – 20" high x 18" – 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.