Rescuing heather( erica) and cineraria- any advice for a novice ?

[gingeroots]

Hi - the erica heathers I bought last year for containers are very brown and presumably dead at the base .
I planted them in ericaceous soil . Can I do anything to improve them ? And if I throw them away ( throw them away ! ) and buy more ,how can I prevent it happening again ?

And with my leggy cineraria ,I've learnt that they like a sunnier position than I gave them ,I've cut them down quite a lot but how low can I go to encourage a better shape ? Or should I ,you know ,TTA .

[gingeroots]

The heathers are fine above the first inch of brownness .

[shovetheholly]

You may just need to prune them to keep them bushy! You snip in the green area, not into the brown. This won't necessarily remove the brown, but it should make them bush out so it's less noticeable.

Some advice here: www.gallowayheathers.com/heather-planting-instructions.asp

[shovetheholly]

Cineraria - sorry for the dumb question, but is it a perennial variety? Quite a few are annuals. If it is perennial, again, a light prune should help. Cut back by 1/3 or so?

[gingeroots]

Well now ,that's a good question ...
I had assumed it was a perennial ,but having googled I see that it isn't

Though I see that "The plants will often last 2 or 3 seasons but become very leggy"
and also that cuttings are a possibilty .

Ah ,so much to learn !

[shovetheholly]

The first time I did a garden, I planted loads of annuals, then got really puzzled by the fact that it had all died back after the frosts! 2 or 3 seasons means 6-9 months, I guess, rather than 2-3 years?

Cuttings are a good idea! This reminds me that I need to do my osteospermums!