Daboecia cantabrica Vanessa - Irish Heath

The Daboecia cantabrica 'Vanessa' is a selection of Irish Heath prized for its particularly bright flowering, between mauve and violet pink. It is an evergreen undershrub that stands out from other heaths due to its low, dense but flexible habit, its long-lasting summer flowering and the beautiful size of its bells. When conditions are favorable, this Heath of the Cantabrian Mountains composes, with other varieties, a lovely colourful mosaics for rockeries and borders in humid climates.

The Daboecia cantabrica 'Vanessa' is a plant of the ericaceae family, like all heaths. Its wild ancestor is native to Western Europe, specifically Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and the Azores Islands. In wet regions this undershrub grows spontaneously on the edge of woodlands and heathlands, on acidic, sandy or peaty, poor soils that do not dry out. Frugal, the Heath of Saint-Daboec is also a plant capable of withstanding temperatures around -15 to -18°C (5 to -0.4°F).

The habit of this 'Vanessa' heath is spreading, carried by prostrate, hairy and glandulous branches at the base, which partially straighten up. At maturity, the plant will measure about 40 cm (16in) in all directions. Its small elliptical oval leaves, 1 cm (<1in) long and 4 to 5 mm (<1in) wide, are evergreen in winter, simple, leathery and alternately arranged on the branches. Green and shiny on the upper side, they are hairy and curl at the edges on the underside. The long-lasting flowering begins in June and does not end until September, or even early October depending on the region. Gathered in somewhat loose terminal clusters, the flowers are charming pendulous bells measuring 1 cm (<1in)  long and 3 to 4 mm (<1in)  in diameter. Their colour is a bright mauve to purplish pink. This melliferous flowering attracts and nourishes many pollinating insects.

Hardy, tolerant of very poor and very acidic soils, the 'Vanessa' Cantabrian heath is an ideal small shrub for landscaping coastal or medium mountain gardens if the soil allows. It can be associated with other Irish heaths of different colours, heathers, planted in mass in a rockery or on a sandy slope where few plants can grow. This shrub also forms a beautiful combination with dwarf asters and Spanish bluebells, for example. The heath can also be grown in pots on the terrace or balcony for its slightly wild appearance and long flowering: choose a sufficiently large container and keep the (exclusively acidic) substrate slightly moist at all times.