If bees and butterflies could design the planting plan, the shadow bell would be at the top of the wish list. The spring-fresh ornamental tree provides plenty of food for busy insects. At the same time, lavender heather acts as a feast for the eyes with white and red flowers over evergreen foliage. Read here how the cultivation succeeds.
Plant lavender heather properly
If you plant the shadow bells in autumn, you create the best conditions for a magnificent bloom in the first year. In the semi-shady location in the slightly acidic soil, create a spacious planting pit while the one that is still potted lavender heather is soaked in a bucket with lime-free water. Position the potted young plant in the middle of the pit and fill it in rhododendron soil. After the substrate has been pressed down with your hands, water generously.
care tips
The care protocol for shadow bells contains no gardening stumbling blocks. Convince yourself with the following overview:
- Pour lavender heather regularly with rainwater or decalcified tap water
- Organic fertilize with compost, horn shavings or guano from March to July
- Trim wilted flowers for a neat appearance
- Carry out shaping and maintenance pruning immediately after flowering
Regardless of the stable winter hardiness, we recommend protection in the form of a mulch, fixed with fir fronds. The branches with the buds that have already formed are given a breathable hood made of jute or fleece. Ideally, a bright, frost-free winter quarters is available for shadow bells in the tub.
Which location is suitable?
If the lavender heath finds a semi-shady location, it pulls out all the stops of its floral performance. These lighting conditions promote the flowering splendor and the beauty of the evergreen foliage in equal measure. In full sun or in deep shade, on the other hand, compromises have to be accepted.
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The right planting distance
Since the growth width of the shadow bells either corresponds to the height or even exceeds it, this value is the starting point for the ideal planting distance. We have compiled recommended distances for common types and varieties:
- Height and width of growth 30-50 cm: Plant distance as solitaire 40 cm, as hedge plant 15-25 cm
- Height and width of growth 60-80 cm: Plant distance as solitaire 70 cm, as hedge plants 30-40 cm
- Height and width of growth 80-100 cm: Plant distance as solitaire 90 cm, as hedge plant 40-50 cm
What soil does the plant need?
If you plant a shadow bell in this soil, you have the best prospects for vigorous growth and lush flowering year after year:
- Humus and fresh-moist
- Slightly acidic with a pH of 4.2 to 5.5
- Gladly lean and well-drained
In the heath garden or in the middle of the bog bed, the shadowy bell feels in good hands.
When is flowering time?
Look forward to a long flowering period from April to June. In years with mild winter weather, the first panicles of flowers sprout from mid/late March. If withered flowers are cleaned, the shadow bell immediately produces new buds and flowers.
Cut lavender heather correctly
Withered flowers are regularly cut off so that the shadow bell has a clean, neat appearance. If you cut off the stems down to the first pair of healthy leaves, there is the best chance of flowering again at this point. Make the central shape and maintenance cut as follows:
- Cut back shadow bells immediately after flowering
- Shorten shoots that are too long except for one that points outwards Eye (slight thickening under the bark)
- Cut deadwood and stunted branches at the base
If you postpone the pruning date to autumn or spring, you deprive the ornamental tree of its next flowering splendor, since the buds have already formed by this time.
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Water lavender heather
Water the bluebell regularly and plentifully, because drought stress affects the beauty of flowers and foliage in both summer and winter. Collected rainwater or decalcified tap water meet the requirements of a slightly acidic substrate particularly well.
Fertilize lavender heather properly
In terms of nutrient supply, the shadowy bell is modest. However, you should not completely do without fertilizer. The administration of acidic leaf or needle compost with nettle manure in the period from March to July is beneficial for the abundance of flowers and foliage. From the beginning of August at the latest, stop fertilizing so that the wood can mature before the first frost.
Diseases
Health problems are the exception rather than the rule on a properly cared for shadow bell. If there are symptoms of the disease, it is usually a fungal infection. First and foremost is the wilting fungus Phytophthora, which kills off young heather lavender and significantly impairs the growth of adult trees and shrubs. The disease is triggered by too frequent watering, which leads to waterlogging in the root area. If the leaves turn yellow, the plant can no longer be saved. So that it doesn't get that far in the first place, only water well dosed with lime-free water when the surface of the soil has dried.
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hibernate
It is less frosty temperatures than intense winter sun and drought stress that can cause problems for a shadow bell. In addition, late ground frosts threaten the already established buds in early spring. We therefore recommend the following precautions:
- In the bed the tree disc pile up with leaves and needles
- Place bucket on wood, wrap with bubble wrap and cover the substrate with peat dust
- Wrap the branches with jute ribbons or put on a breathable hood made of garden fleece
As a precaution, place pots with a diameter of less than 30 cm in a bright, frost-free winter quarters.
Propagating lavender heather
Anyone who was able to experience the red leaf sprouting and the enchanting spring blossoms would like more shadow bells for beds and balconies. How good that the propagation is so uncomplicated. It is the following two methods that make life easy for hobby gardeners:
- cut cuttings during the flowering period, place in poor soil and root in a partially shaded place
- In May/June, pull half-woody shoots to the ground, score in the middle, cover with substrate and allow to root
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Is lavender heather poisonous?
The shadow bell is not suitable for the family garden. The high poison content poses life-threatening dangers for humans and animals. Even mere skin contact triggers severe irritation. The consumption of the smallest amounts causes symptoms of poisoning up to and including cardiac arrest.
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Is lavender heather hardy?
The shadow bell has a robust winter hardiness and can withstand temperatures down to - 23 degrees Celsius. Special precautions as winter protection are therefore not necessary. This specification applies to a semi-shady to shady location. If the ornamental tree is in a sunny location, there is a risk of life-threatening drought stress under intense sunlight in connection with frost. A thick mulch layer of leaf soil and needle brushwood and watering on mild winter days prevent this dilemma.
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Beautiful varieties
- Valley Valentine: Strain star thanks to red bell-shaped flowers and majestic stature; Growth height 80-150 cm
- Forest Flame: Compact growth, bright red shoots of evergreen leaves and white flowers; Growth height 100 cm
- Little Heath: Premium variety with white-pink variegated evergreen leaves and white flower; Growth height 50-60 cm
- Purity: Spherical habit, strewn with silvery, shiny panicles of flowers above lush green leaves; Growth height 70-80 cm
- Cavatine: A splendid specimen for the tub and as a grave plant thanks to its compact silhouette; Growth height 40 cm
