Other Names:  Shrubby Veronica

Description:

A lovely, evergreen shrub with a neat, upright habit; light green glossy leaves with interesting gold edges; sky blue flowers in summer are impressive when massed; will tolerate some mild frost; a very pretty addition to rock gardens or borders

Ornamental Features

Sky Blue Hebe has masses of beautiful clusters of sky blue star-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from early to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. It has attractive green foliage edged in gold with hints of chartreuse which emerges yellow in spring. The small glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain green throughout the winter. The tan stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Sky Blue Hebe is an open multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sky Blue Hebe is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Sky Blue Hebe will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Sky Blue Hebe makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.