Illustration
Carnival Scotch Heather
Calluna vulgaris 'Multicolor'
Also called multicolor scotch heather
Carnival Scotch Heather blooms from June through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Carnival Scotch Heather
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 8 in tall and 16 in wide at maturity, in roughly 4 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Carnival Scotch Heather. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Carnival Scotch Heather
Plant Carnival Scotch Heather in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from June to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Carnival Scotch Heather get?
8 intall5 ft 7 inan adult16 inwideSee Carnival Scotch Heather in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Carnival Scotch Heather
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Carnival Scotch Heather about 16 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Carnival Scotch Heather to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Carnival Scotch Heather's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 11 published sources on October 13, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- wilsonbrosgardens.comWilson Bros Gardens (Multicolor Scotch Heather, synonym Carnival)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- Plant Addictsqueue store; unbranded Prides Corner grower stockheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, diseases and pests
- pridescorner.comPrides Corner Farms (Lebanon, Connecticut; wholesale grower)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and soil
- NC State ExtensionCalluna vulgaris speciessun, water, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- Internet Archive (archived page)Rock Spray Nursery, Truro, Massachusetts, 2005 catalog (PDF; Internet...height, spread, sun, trait tags and soil
- heatherworld.orgThe Heather Society, International Register of Heather Names, Volume 1...height and spread
- heatherworld.orgHeather World, the Heather Society cultivar register: Multicolorbloom months and color
- homegarden.cahnr.uconn.eduUConn Home & Garden Education Center: Heath and Heather (Calluna vulga...soil and pests
- electricscotland.comThe Heather Society, Year Book 1963, The Wanderer, 'New and lesser kno...height
- Internet Archive (archived page)Sylvan Nursery, Westport, Massachusetts, Heather/Heath list, 7/24/00 (...height
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Society, Evergreen shrubs for specific situationssoil
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.