How to propagate heather?

Heathers are delightful perennial shrubs, highly decorative in the garden thanks to their evergreen leaf and bell-shaped flowering.

Whether summer, winter or shrubby varieties, heathers can be grown both in the ground and in pots. They are also very easy to propagate. Propagation by cuttings, layering or division: let's see how to rejuvenate your heather or obtain new young plants easily and for free.

To learn all about growing heather, we invite you to read our article: Heathers: planting, pruning and care

propagating heather

Layering heather

Layering is one of the most effective techniques for propagating heather. It involves burying part of the plant so that it can develop new roots. Layering can even occur naturally in the garden or in the wild, when a heather stem remains in prolonged contact with the soil. This gives you a new plant with the same characteristics as the original parent plant.

Heather is layered in spring, when all risk of frost has passed and temperatures have warmed, ideally before new growth begins.

Required materials

A small trowel or large spoon
Hooks such as pegs or flexible wire stems
A small stake or wooden stick
String
Secateurs
A light substrate mix: soil or compost with a handful of sand

How to layer heather

Select a stem on the outside of the heather's stump
Dig a small trench about 3 to 5 cm deep just below this stem
Gently bend the stem to place it in the trench, without separating it from the parent plant
Secure the stem in the trench using the hooks
Insert the stake into the trench and tie the end of the stem above ground to it with string, keeping it upright
Cover the trench with the substrate mix
Water thoroughly

Ensure regular watering until the layering is successful. After a few months, when the plant has taken, the buried part will have developed its own roots and new shoots will appear on the stem. This is when you can separate the stem from the parent plant using disinfected secateurs, before transplanting the new plant into a pot or another part of the garden.

propagating heather

Taking heather cuttings

Taking cuttings is a simple and economical way to obtain a new heather plant. It allows you to produce, from part of the plant, a new specimen identical to the parent plant.

Cuttings are taken in spring or late summer, around August. Taking cuttings is also the most effective method for propagating shrubby heather, which is larger than common heather.

Required materials

A bucket with drainage holes, plastic or peat
A spray bottle
A pencil or stick
Secateurs
A light substrate mix: seed compost, heather soil and sand

How to take heather cuttings

Fill the bucket with the substrate mix
Using a spray bottle, moisten all of the substrate
Choose a semi-woody stem from your parent heather plant, i.e. one that grew the previous year, about 5 to 10 cm long
Cut it with sharp, disinfected secateurs, just below an eye (point where a leaf emerges)
Remove the leaves from the lower half of the stem and any flowers. This allows the stem to focus on producing roots and reduces evaporation
Use a pencil to make a hole in the centre of the bucket and place the heather stem in it
Gently firm with your fingers to secure the stem in the substrate and remove air pockets
Place the bucket in a warm, bright spot, but protected from direct sunlight

To maximise the chances of success, you can use the bagging method. To do this, place the bottom of a cut plastic bottle or a small transparent bag such as a freezer bag around the plant. This recreates warm, humid conditions conducive to the plant taking, like a mini greenhouse.

Keep the substrate moist until the first signs of growth appear. After a few weeks, you will notice new leaves and roots forming. When the plant becomes cramped or the roots start to emerge from the holes in the bucket, repot into a larger container or transplant your new heather directly into the ground. This is ideally done in spring or autumn.

propagating heather

Dividing heather

Division involves separating a plant's rootball into several parts, each with its own roots. For summer heathers, this is done in autumn between September and November, outside frost periods. Winter heathers are divided in spring, after flowering.

Dividing heather helps rejuvenate an ageing plant that is starting to thin out or spread too much. Division is done on well-established clumps, that are already 3 or 4 years old.

Required materials

A spade
A sharp knife
A light substrate mix: heather soil and sand

How to divide heather

Prepare the areas where the new clumps will be planted by weeding them
Insert the spade all around the heather plant to be divided, gently lifting the soil with levering movements, to loosen the entire rootball
Remove the stump, taking care to damage as few roots as possible
Remove any excess soil and weeds to expose the stump
Use the knife to divide the rootball into two or three parts
Replant the original clump immediately and plant the new ones in the prepared areas
Add the substrate mix and water all the plants generously