Erica sessiliflora has intriguing, pale yellowish green, tube-shaped flowers in showy heads and is a rewarding and decorative garden plant.
This spectacular plant is hard to miss when in flower, which takes place all year round (January to December) with a peak during autumn to spring (April to September), although flowering time may vary from locality to locality.
It is an erect woody shrublet up to 1.5m. Leaves are narrow and 4-6-nate; flowers are pale-green, large, tubular, stalkless and 16-30mm long in dense spikes at ends of branches; these spikes mature to form reddish, lumpy heads of fruit (seed) that remain on the plant for many years.
This unusual characteristic makes the species easy to identify.
Latin: sessio = act of sitting, flos = flower; referring to the stalkless flowers of this species.
Plant Erica sessiliflora in full sun, where there is free circulation of air. Soil type should be free-draining, sandy and acidic with low levels of phosphate. No manure should be used, rather feed with well-rotted compost or slow-release or low-dose organic fertilizers. To increase acidity of the soil, decomposed pine needles or pine bark can be mixed into the soil.