Calluna vulgaris Rasta Girls Netty - Heather

Calluna vulgaris Rasta Girls® 'Netty' is a variety of summer heather characterised by both closed flower buds and a trailing habit. It develops very bright needle-like foliage of a beautiful yellow just turning from green. It remains evergreen throughout the year. In September and October, white floral buds appear. As they do not open, they withstand bad weather well and remain decorative for a long time. The stems are trailing. This heather is therefore ideal for hanging baskets or pot plantings. In the garden, it behaves like a creeping plant, beautifully covering the stones in a rockery.

Calluna vulgaris is the only species of the genus Calluna belonging to the Ericaceae family. In its natural habitat, it is the dominant vegetation of heathlands in the cold regions of the United Kingdom and Northern Europe. 'Netty' is an evergreen shrub that forms small bushy plants, with a slightly tousled, spreading and trailing habit, reaching 40cm (16in) in height and width at maturity. Its growth is rather slow. Decorative throughout the year, it is adorned with a beautiful, long-lasting autumn flowering, with floral buds densely grouped on compact and flexible spikes. Its foliage is persistent and scale-like, similar to that of a small conifer.

'Netty' is an original heather that thrives in any acidic, moist to dry soil, in full sun or partial shade. Stunning when planted en masse with other species and varieties, it pairs well with dwarf asters and small grasses, in a rockery, on a bank, or in an informal border, where its flexible stems weave between the plants. In an ericaceous bed, it can be planted at the base of witch hazels, pieris, or Skimmia japonica. On a patio or balcony, it can be planted in hanging baskets and pots, gracefully cascading for autumnal floral compositions with small perennials and bulbs.

Calluna vulgaris can withstand moderate grazing. It represents an important source of food for sheep and deer when snow covers the vegetation. It is capable of regenerating after a fire. In the past, this plant was considered magical and used in white magic rituals; it was attributed protective powers, as in the Breton heaths, where it is said to ward off ghostly spirits. Calluna is also an ingredient of gruit, an aromatic composition used in brewing beer before the use of hops in the Middle Ages. Its flowering tops have been used in herbal medicine for a very long time, as they are reputed to "dissolve stones in the bladder".