Fynbos Corridor Collaboration

Macdonald Heath

Erica turgida

© (None)

Description - from Wikipedia

Erica turgida, the showy heath or Kenilworth heath, is a species of Erica that was naturally restricted to the city of Cape Town, South Africa, but is now classified as Extinct in the Wild.
This small, delicate erica produces thin, willowy stems, covered in velvety hair. It produces masses of bright-pink, cup-shaped flowers.
This Erica used to grow naturally in the area that is now beneath the Cape Town suburbs of Rondebosch, Kenilworth and Wynberg.
It was therefore an endemic to the critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos vegetation type. Soon before the last wild population died out at Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area, a woman named Elsie Esterhuizen took cuttings to Kirstenbosch gardens and thus saved the species from permanent extinction.
Along with its fellow extinct-in-the-wild heath, Erica verticillata, it is now being re-introduced to the Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area, now that the spread of the invasive alien vegetation there has been controlled.

Gallery











== References ==

Read more here

Species Characteristics

Wildlife supported

Bees Bees

Tolerances & suitability

Good potplant Good potplant

Growth features

Easy to grow Easy to grow

Social features

Attractive Attractive

Aspect

Sun Sun

Plant types

Shrub Shrub
Flowering Period
  • Pink
Dec

Propagation

By Seed

Seed is sown in autumn in a sandy, well-drained soil mixture. The seed is pre-treated with smoke to optimize germination, although smoke treatment is not a prerequisite. Seedlings appear after a few weeks and should be carefully nurtured until they are about 10 mm tall and ready for transplanting into individual containers. Keep pinching out the terminal shoots as this will result in branching and a more bushy plant.

By Cutting

Cuttings are taken in autumn or spring to early summer, from actively growing shoots preferably as heel cuttings. A heel cutting is a side shoot that is removed from the main stem while retaining a part of that stem. Cuttings are placed in a fine bark mix in special propagation units with heated benches and overhead misters. Rooting takes place in a few weeks.

Nursery availability

No nursery stock found.

Start planning your restoration garden