If you want to plant your heaths and heathers now you can, but they will need to be watered often! Heaths and heathers have extremely fine roots, and if they dry out in the least, they will die. In my experience, the smaller size plants(3-4" pots) are more easily established than the bigger gallon size pots. They will catch up to the larger plants very quickly. Before you plant, make sure you ammend your soil, they love acid, so if you have a wooded area around you, you can even dig up some leaf mold and mix it into each planting hole. After planting you can give them a drink of fish emulsion, make sure you dilute it according to the directions on the bottle, and I even add a bit more water to make it a bit weaker. You live in CT, so you have cold windy weather. Bad news for heaths and heathers! You must protect them from the drying winds.I use pine boughs over the top of my bed, and add extra mulch around the crowns, and sometimes even throw some leaves under there. You should take this into consideration before you choose your varieties. Heaths generally bloom in the colder months(Nov-April), so you may not want to plant too many of these, since they will be covered at those times. To tell the difference between heaths and heathers, heaths have needles, heathers do not. Good Luck, here's a link to a great source, excellent plants and selection, shippings not bad either.

Here is a link that might be useful: heaths and heathers

Thanks so much for all that great info, catchef. Very helpful!

I'm wondering-how long do we need to cover heaths and heathers in the winter? Just for the first season or two or indefinitely? Thanks, again.

In your climate you will need to protect them always. Here on Cape Cod (zone7) there are heaths and heathers the size of shrubs, mature plants at least 5-6 years old that probably had never been protected. This past winter we got about two weeks of 0-10 degree weather with a lot of wind, and about 80% of those plants were killed. Since they are such slow growing plants, you want to do what you can to be sure you don't lose any. You were smart to research and get the information now before buying. I had to learn the hard way when I first started.

I just saw your post, but my reply comes not too late (especially if you have replies sent to you by email).

Catchef gives great advice. Follow it, especially about covering your heathers with evergreen boughs (I too learned this the hard way last winter). Cover them now, if you havenÂt already, especially since this is their first winter in your garden. This will protect them from the dessicating effects of windburn and sunscald. [In zone 5, where I garden, I keep them covered until about mid April, because of the growing intensity of early spring sun, the absense of snow cover (by then) and because they are not yet in active growth. You have similar conditions in Connecticut.]

Another important activity is pruning. In late March or early April, shear heathers to below the point at which they flowered the previous year. Do this for at least their first three years. (Every year is good.) Not only does this practice induce fuller growth and heavier flowering, it prevents unsightly and uncurable legginess and sparsity of growth.

A good source for us on the East coast is Rockspray Nursery. Their site gives additional horticultural information (as does the link provided by catchef).

Here is a link that might be useful: Heaths/Heathers: E. coast source