Erica darleyensis f.albiflora Silberschmelze - Winter Heath

Erica x darleyensis f. albiflora 'Silberschmelze' lives up to its name of snow heather due to its long flowering period consisting of hundreds of small white bell-shaped flowers with silver reflections. This vigorous variety, the most beautiful among the white ones, blooms from November to March-April, depending on the climate, forming a large and bright cushion in the garden during the shortest days of the year. Its evergreen foliage, similar to very fine needles, changes colour throughout the seasons, ranging from a light green speckled with cream in spring to dark green in summer, turning red in cold weather. By combining different varieties with staggered flowering times, heathers create a patchwork of colours for 6 to 7 months, in the garden or in pots, even in slightly chalky soil for certain varieties.

'Silberschmelze' is a German horticultural creation, one of the many cultivars resulting from the crossbreeding between Erica carnea, native to mountainous areas of southern and central Europe, thriving on limestone soil, and Erica erigena, acidophilous, native to western Europe. This hybrid combines the larger growth of the Scottish species with the more abundant flowering of alpine heather. A persistent undershrub with a rounded and spreading habit, it will reach approximately 35 cm (13.8 in) in height and 50 cm (19.7 in) in width at maturity, with a rather slow growth. Its lifespan is around 10 to 15 years. 'Silberschmelze' has a long flowering period, with yellow-green buds blossoming into small urn-shaped flowers of pure white with brown stamens. These flowers, measuring 3 mm to 5 mm (0.1 in to 0.2 in) in length, are gathered in clusters that are 3 cm to 10 cm (1.2 in to 3.9 in) long and scattered along the branches, amidst thin and linear foliage.

Very hardy and not demanding on soil type, this heather is ideal for winter planting, alongside other varieties such as Erica 'Winter Belles', E. 'Furzey', E. 'J.H Brummage' and E. 'Katia'. Darley heather is also an excellent ground cover, whether alone or combined with dwarf creeping conifers (Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star', J. horizontalis 'Blue Chip', J. repanda), or ground cover plants such as Antennaria dioica 'Rubra', Armeria maritima 'Rubrifolia', or Campanula portenschlagiana for example.