gold-leafed tree heath

order: ericales
family: ericaceae
genus: erica
species: arborea
cultivar: 'Albert's Gold'

late autumn 2012. leaves turned dark green.

As the name implies, this tree heath's leaves are usually more yellowish than green. But that's only if new growth is exposed to sufficiently bright light. Otherwise they turn mid to dark green just as they do when it gets darker into fall and winter. My plant is currently about knee height. It has lots of stems coming from the base, which makes it look like a group of cypress trees crowding together. Although I must say, the sight of its foliage at a distance reminds me of casuarinas on hot sunny beaches.

flowering in may 2013. close-up.

As the spring was breaking, I could see small tiny white tips emerging mainly on the branches of the upper section, which soon turned into foliage and terminal flower buds. Flowers become fully open in May. They are tiny, white, drooping and have a red dot in the middle. With the help of an enlarged macro photo, I counted four petals on each flower.

I repotted the plant earlier in April in a nice dark grey plastic pot. But I realised, the plant needs a new heavier pot so it doesn't get blown over easily by wind.

wandering heath

order: ericales

family: ericaceae

genus: erica

species: vagans

cultivar: 'Princess'

Autumn 2012.

In this post, I'd like to dedicate this wandering heath to my recently deceased Princess aka Kogo, a Tancho Sanshoku Nishikigoi. This is a much loved fish among all my other fish and she's always been very photogenic. Now I'm going to miss the beautiful black clouds against her snow white skin, the tiny red crown on her head and her handsome blue eye rings. I used to bring this plant to the pond so the fish can admire it. Now each time that I care for this plant, I'll always remember you, my dear little Princess.



Update:

Late August 2013. Profusion of flower as usual.

My princess has grown a lot more than I expected. Potting up is compulsory next spring, unless I choose to plant it in the ground.