Veronica Species, Spiked Speedwell

I had given up on the veronicas because for me the bottoms of the plants always got ratty looking with dried leaves. When they bloomed I...Read More had to deadhead then wait for new flowers to emerge. I stopped buying them until last summer when I came across "twilight". The sign boasted it was superior to other veronicas in blooms and strength. The foliage always looks moist and fresh and true to the sign it bloomed nonstop with much larger and pretentious blooms than any of my other veronicas. No ratty lower stems. It is growing abundantly this year in spite of our night time frosts and has more than doubled in size. I may even be able to take a bit off the side and start another plant elsewhere! I have loam/silt soil with a good nutritious mulch. It gets sun morning to about 3 P.M. then shade the rest of the day. GREAT plant!! It survived a 5* freezing spell this winter.

Love the Veronicas! I have at least 6 different varieties.

I keep them deadheaded so that they stay in bloom all Summer.

For me, this plant is best the first year when it stays small and upright. Following years it gets taller and likes to flop. It seeds i...Read Moretself in different places, so I have let the new ones grow, and taken out the older ones. Blooms June -September in my garden.

My information says it is hardy in zones 3-10. Light aids germination of seeds.

Spike Speedwell is a low to mid-height perennial of upright habit, mainly spreading by slowly creeping rootstocks. It is fast-growing wit...Read Moreh a long lifespan. The dense foliage has a fine texture, and the tiny blue-purple blooms develope on moderate spikes, lasting from summer until fall.

Native to Europe and Asia, it grows on rocky limestone hills and in grasslands. It is one of the most common veronicas grown in U.S. gardens. Spike speedwell prefers fertile, moist but well-drained soil. It is somewhat heat and drought. This is a naturalizing plant.