White flowers, III–V, closely packed in cylindrical spikes, stalks white or green; mid-green foliage; height at least 1m; spread 75–100cm. Hardy.
Collected, according the Georg Dieck(Zöschen, Germany) in 1892, at about 1,400m altitude, in Serrania de Cuenca, Spain, more than a century ago. It is unlikely that more than one clone is in cultivation now, even if he collected several. Introduced by Georg Dieck in 1899.
Named from Latin alpinus = growing in the alpine zone of mountains.
Correct name Erica lusitanica ‘Le Vasterival‘
Correct name for this cultivar is Erica arborea f. arborea ‘Kermit’. Name changed as original name was rejected by the Federal Plant Variety Office (Bundessortenamt).
Dunkelgrün, sehr buschig mit dicht besetzten Trieben, gute Blüte im Alter von zwei Jahren, winterhart, robust.
Dark green, very bushy with densely populated shoots, good flowering at the age of two years. “The best dark green seedling I found, my favourite.”
Deliberately raised seedling from self-pollinated E. arborea ‘Albert’s Gold’, cross made by Johannes van Leuven in May 2011; selected October 2013.
Originally registered under the name Erica arborea ‘Grüner Favorit’ ® E.2016:09. Registered on 29th December 2016 by Johannes van Leuven (Geldern, Germany).
White flowers, IV–V; dark green foliage; more erect habit than ‘Alpina’; height at least 1m; spread 61–75cm. Hardy. Found in Picos de Europa, northern Spain, by Terry Underhill; he collected what appeared to be a dwarf form but in fact had been grazed by cattle!
