Calluna vulgaris Rena - Heather

Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Rena' is a summer heather from the prolific 'Garden Girls' series and the 'Late Line' range. It is therefore a late variety that offers flower buds that remain closed to ensure a long-lasting flowering, resistant to bad weather. As the flowers are not pollinated, they have an extended lifespan. 'Rena' is characterized by medium to dark green evergreen foliage and dark pink flowers, quite bright. Its flowering begins in October, in symbiosis with the warm colours of the season, and continues until Christmas.

Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Rena' belongs to the Ericaceae family. Its ancestor, the common heather, the only species of the Calluna genus, constitutes the dominant vegetation of heathlands in its natural habitat, in the cold regions of the United Kingdom and Northern Europe. 'Rena' is an evergreen shrub that forms small, dense bushes with a broad and upright habit, reaching a height of about 30 to 40cm with an equivalent width after 3 years of cultivation. Decorative all year round thanks to its beautiful evergreen foliage, this cultivar blooms from early October until December. Its flower buds are arranged in upright and flexible spikes.

The Garden Girls 'Rena' Summer Heather is a light and refined plant, which thrives in any acidic, fresh to dry soil, in full sun or partial shade. Plant it in rock gardens, as a border plant, or in a lovely pot on the terrace. It brings elegance to wild areas of the garden as well as weekend or low-maintenance gardens. Spectacular when planted in mass with other species and varieties, it also pairs nicely with dwarf asters and short ornamental grasses, in rock gardens, on slopes, or in casual borders. In a heathland bed, it thrives at the base of witch hazels, Pieris or Skimmia japonica. On the terrace or balcony, it fills pots and planters for autumn floral compositions with small perennials and bulbs.

Calluna vulgaris tolerates moderate grazing. It represents an important source of food for sheep and deer when vegetation is covered in snow. 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 in 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 bladder stones".