The Valentina Scotch Heather, otherwise known as the Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ or Camellia ‘Alba Plena’, ‘Alba Plena’ Camellia, Camellia ‘Da Bai’, Camellia ‘Double White’, Camellia ‘Old Double White’, Fall Blooming Camellias, Winter Blooming Camellias, Spring Blooming Camellias, Early Season Camellias, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Valentina Scotch Heather is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Valentina Scotch Heather Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Valentina Scotch Heather can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Valentina Scotch Heather grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
- Light: Keep your Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Valentina Scotch Heather in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Valentina Scotch Heather is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Valentina Scotch Heather belongs to the Theaceae family, the genus Camellia and the species Japonica, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ (ka-LOO-na vul-GAIR-iss).
As with other Camellia’s, the Valentina Scotch Heather is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Valentina Scotch Heather is a plant native to the Korea, China and Central & Southern Jap.
You might be wondering why your Valentina Scotch Heather’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 7 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Valentina Scotch Heather is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Valentina Scotch Heather? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ can grow up to 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm) in 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm) and 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm) in 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm).
These dimensions make the Valentina Scotch Heather a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 72″ – 96″ (180cm – 240cm) free so the Valentina Scotch Heather can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Valentina Scotch Heather is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Valentina Scotch Heather in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Valentina Scotch Heather then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Valentina Scotch Heather needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Valentina Scotch Heather prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Valentina Scotch Heather requires soil with high organic matter, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Valentina Scotch Heather requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial sun to shade, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Valentina Scotch Heather will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Valentina Scotch Heather to flower around the winter and in the spring months from January to March (winter) and from April to June (spring).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its long bloom season, flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Valentina Scotch Heather produces some beautiful white, or pink,variegated, gold/yellowred/burgundy, and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Valentina Scotch Heather have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Valentina Scotch Heather will look best in it.
Most Calluna Vulgaris ‘Valentina’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of japanese garden, city and courtyard, informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Valentina Scotch Heather’s best location within your garden is in hedges and screens, wall-side borders, beds and borders, patio and containers, and in walls and fences, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, hillside, ground cover, erosion control, cutting garden, container, border, or a rock garden.
Companion Plants
Valentina Scotch Heather’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Juniperus, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Rhododendron will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Valentina Scotch Heather to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
