MUCH NEEDED WINTER COLOUR

An oldie, but a goodie, Erica's seem to have been around for years.  It is one of those plants that is continually served up to us at garden centres year after year.  People are drawn to the mass display of its vibrant colour amongst the autumn/winter colouring that beseiges centres at this time of year.

It is a time when one thinks of long cold nights, cups of hot soup and a bit of dvd watching.  Why is it that we often overlook the possibilities of planting for winter colour.  Erica's can brighten even the gloomiest part of a garden.  Two forms of Erica currently making their mark are Erica Melanthera Improved, with its vibrant mass of pink haze, and Erica Surprise, a pure white form of Melanthera which it was originally bred from.  The reason it was named Surprise is due to the fact that the odd plant reverts back to its pink form.  If you're very lucky sometimes you can have a plant with the two colours - pink and white. 

Both plants provide continual gratification throughout winter, their flowering even witnessing the changing of the season - flowering continually through to early spring.  Both Erica's make superb container specimens and provide a breathe of life into our otherwise dull and colourless winter gardens.  Alternatively, mass plant them together in amongst easy care nad structured gardens to create a wall or sea of colour.  They can provide contrasts that illustrate that there is such a thing as a year round garden.

Erica's are generally very hardy and can withstand the Canterbury frosts and snow, although in their first year their tips can get frost damaged.  They should be pruned immediately after flowering.  Simply cut back the flowered stems with a pair of secuteurs to ensure compact bushy plants.  For mass planting allow at least 45 cm between plants, even if it does leave a soil gap.  They will need room to spread and normally start spreading well during their second year after planting.

The Star and Gardening Solutionz would like to offer you the chance to win an Erica.  To enter, simply register your name under contact us on this website (www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz) and list the word ERICA.  The draw is open to New Zealand residents only and closes on 24th July 2008.  The winner's plant would be couried to them.

The Star Newspaper July 2008

Congratulations to Des Burgess and Christine Aldous who both won an Erica in our competition in The Star.