Erica x williamsii Ken Wilson

Erica x williamsii 'Ken Wilson' is a hybrid between Erica tetralix and a Cornish heather, much sought after for its generous, light magenta to shell pink blooms. This compact sub-shrub flowers from midsummer to autumn.  Its fine foliage retains a lovely shade of bright green all year round. This pretty rockery plant also makes an elegant ground cover.

The Erica x williamsii 'Ken Wilson' belongs to the ericaceae family, like all heathers. This plant results from cross-breeding between Erica tetralix 'Hookstone Pink' and E. vagans 'Mrs DF Maxwell'. It was obtained in 1992 in Sardis, British Columbia, Canada, by David Wilson. This heather forms a low, broad and rounded bush with dense vegetation, measuring 25-30 cm in height with a spread of 50-60 cm. Its stems bear tiny, linear, needle-like leaves of medium green colour. Its small bell-shaped flowers are grouped in small elongated clusters at the top of leafy stems. Their colour ranges from light magenta pink to pearly pale pink. They appear around the month of July and continue blooming until October or even November. It is a melliferous and nectariferous flowering, highly visited by bees. This variety is very resistant to cold, down to -20 °C.

Plant this 'Ken Wilson' heather in a rockery or at the edge of a flower bed alongside other heathers whose flowering will take over: Erica carnea 'Springwood White', E. darleyensis 'Kramer's Rote', for example. To add a touch of whimsy to the somewhat austere carpets of their foliage, these undershrubs can be associated with some Carex that will lighten their mass. They can also be planted in groups in front of andromedas or Japanese azaleas.

While heathers, especially those of the genus Erica, are associated with the humid Atlantic heaths of the oceanic north facade (Brittany, Ireland, Scotland), some heathers thrive in dry climates and on limestone soils, such as those found in the Mediterranean. But one of the richest areas in heather species is located far away, in South Africa. In the Cape region, there is a plant formation on acidic soil, equivalent to our Mediterranean scrub vegetation, called Fynbos, which includes nearly 625 heather species out of the 740 worldwide.