Growing Tree Heather: Tips at a Glance
Don't confuse the evergreen shrub tree heather with other heathers: it is graceful, mysterious, and show stopping (all the things heather isn't).
- Type Evergreen shrub
- Lifespan Perennial
- Growing Zones 7-9
- Light Sun or some shade
- Soil Acidic
- Companions Camellias, pines
- Design Tip Tiny tree
- Other Uses Fragrance
- Peak Season Spring flowers
Tree Heather: A Field Guide
The evergreen shrub tree heather earns its nickname—giant heather—honestly: At maturity it can reach a height of 13 feet. Think of it as a small tree in a shrub’s body.
Tree heather will burst into flower (tiny flowers) in spring, with tiny white, highly perfumed blossoms. Drought tolerant and happy in either sun or partial shade, Erica arborea also takes kindly to pruning. You can shape it into a tall column or leave it shaggy, looking like the family pet.
Among our favorite cultivars of tree heather are ‘Albert’s Gold’ (with yellow-green foliage), slow-growing ‘Estrella Gold’, and bushy alpine tree heather (Erica arborea var. alpina), which grows to a height of about 6.5 feet.