Is my heather dying?

Hi. Some advice please.

I purchased some Calluna (don't know variety) at Trader Joe's in little pots about a month ago. It was beautiful- beautiful green foliage with lots of pink to lavender flowers (some white).

I planted it in my garden in the sun, and within a couple of weeks the leaves turned brown. I have Erica darlyensis growing in the same location successfully- beautiful green leaves on the Erica.

Is this a normal seasonal cycle for Calluna or is there a problem? We have not had a real frost yet but at night it sometimes gets down to around 40 F.

Thanks in advance,

anitje

A plant in a small container has its roots only in that volume of space for quite a while.

Were you watering it close enough that you know the root zone (small as it was) was getting enough water?

Was it staying too wet?

Plants that are grown in a greenhouse then sold at stores are not ready for full sun right away. Did you transition it to full sun gradually? Or shade it when you first planted it?

Golly, I would normally say Heathers are "plant and then leave alone" they are normally tough as old boots BUT I would check your soil, These plants need acidic soil, plenty of peat added, watered as and when required until they get established, other than that, they should be fine.
I think Diana has came close to solving the problem by mentioning SMALL plants in sun not a good mixture, I always find Heather likes a slight shaded area and NOT hot sunshine,
IF you bought the plant at Trader Joe's, ask IF they were outdoor plants or perhaps grown for indoor display, take the plant back and let them see it, on my visit to Trader Joe's, the staff were very helpful and I feel sure they would rather know of a problem and try solve it rather than loose a customer or more sale of plants.
Hope your plant survives but, they really don't loose there green colour except when they are dried out, after flowering, you need to cut off the flowering stems BUT never cut into the woody area of the plant, always only remove the green part of stems that have flowered to get the plant to form more flowering stems, IF you cut too low down into the brown woody bits, they dont regrow from that woody part. they also go into a dormant winter sleep stage. BUT not sure about your temps.
Good luck.
WeeNel.

Heather and Heath (Calluna/Erica and cousins) are "tough as an old boot" here too, and very popular for around parking lots for that reason. BUT-I find the newly planted little ones to be exquisitely sensitive to drying out until they are established, which here only takes one rainy season. If they dry out for even a day, over the next few weeks they turn brown, and do not come back. It takes days for the browning to start showing up, even though the plant is dying. Because of this, you could even have bought them after they had dried out and then been watered again. I have found that grocery store Heathers are not a good choice for this reason, better to buy from a nursery where it was cared for properly. Then plant right away, and be diligent watering until established. You know it is ultimately a good spot because you have one there already.
Try again, you should be successful.