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In Bloom

Erica canaliculata is located in the South Africa Garden (Beds 26b and 27g) and the Fragrance Garden (Bed 11a).

Location Scientific Name Erica canaliculata Family Ericaceae Plant Type Evergreen shrub Environment Thrives in light, acid soils, moist winter conditions. Infrequent deep watering in summer months. Protect from prolonged exposure to frost. Full sun on the coast, partial shade inland. Bloom Profuse bloom in winter. Flower color is deeper in plants grown outdoors in cooler conditions than in greenhouse grown plants. Uses Ornamental used for winter color in perennial beds and borders, foundation plantings. More Info The Heather Society's world of heaths and heathers Christmas Heather at the Huntington Botanical Garden Rock Spray Nursery specializes in heaths and heathers Profile Contributor: Fred Bové

"Christmas Heather" is a profuse blooming shrub from South Africa. The dainty urn-shaped lavender flowers with tiny black stamens cover the shrub completely in winter. Its leaves are evergreen, and dense. Canaliculata means channeled in Latin, and refers to corrugated grooves on the inner woody bark. Christmas Heather can grow to 6 feet.

Ericas are heaths, not heathers; both are members of the Ericaceae family but are in separate genera. More than 600 varieties of heath grow in the Cape Province region of South Africa, an area of 100 square miles at the tip of the continent, and a botanical wonderland. Three fourths of the plants there are endemic, meaning they occur nowhere else in the world. 8,550 species have been counted, twice as many as in California, which is four times larger.

South Africa has a mediterranean climate of mild winters and dry summers with few climate extremes, making it possible for a great variety of plants to prosper. We enjoy similar conditions in the Bay Area, and as a result, San Francisco Botanical Garden contains a great diversity of plants from the Cape Province.

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Magnolia campbellii January	Magnolia denudata February	Magnolia x veitchii March
Iris douglasiana April

Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku' January	Magnolia campbellii 'Darjeeling' February	Bomarea spp. March
Rhododendron occidentale April	Polystichum munitum May	x Chiranthofremontia lenzii June
Salvia leucantha July	Hydrangea seemannii August	Wollemia nobilis September
Cyathea cooperi October	Pinus radiata November	Correa spp. December

Garrya elliptica January	Magnolia x soulangeana February	Senecio glastifolius March
Ribes spp. April	Oxalis oregana May	Calandrinia grandiflora June
Taxus baccata July	Romneya coulteri August	Passiflora parritae September
Malvaviscus arboreus October	Monterey Cypress November	Aloe arborescens December

Aloe plicatilis January	Banksia seminuda February	Zantedeschia aethiopica March
Magnolia laevifolia April	Araucaria heterophylla May	Toxicodendron diversilobum June
Clarkia sp. July	Agapanthus August	Brugmansia September
Cedrus spp. October	Protea repens November	Camellia sinensis December

Thujopsis dolabrata January	Gordonia longicarpa February	Rojasianthe superba March
Echium spp. April	Iris douglasiana May	Digitalis purpurea June
Felicia amelloides July	Ceroxylon quindiuense August	Amaryllis belladonna September
Ginkgo biloba October	Acer morrisonense November	Ilex aquifolium December

Picea sitchensis January	Telanthophora grandifolia February	Aeonium arboreum 'Schwartzkopf' March
Leptospermum April	Salvia gesneraeflora May	Lavandula spp. June
Pelargonium July	Fuchsia paniculata August	Luma apiculata September
Luculia October	Arbutus unedo November	Cycad December

Restionaceae January	Hellebores February	Ceanothus March
Rhododendron April	Psoralea pinnata May	Fremontodendron californicum June
Leucadendron argenteum July	Crocosmia August	Gunnera tinctoria September
Pellaea rotundifolia October	Fuchsia boliviana November	Erica canaliculata December

Magnolia campbelli January	Magnolia denudata February	Camellia March
Geranium maderense April	Acmena smithii May	Eschscholzia californica June
Dendromecon harfordii July	Romneya coulteri August	Eupatorium purpureum September
Epilobium canum sp. October	Grevillea spp. November	Drimys winteri December