Perennial Veronica incana or Spiked Woolly Speedwell

-
 Cold hardy in zones 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Veronica Woolly Silver Speedwell is blooming around the edges of part shade spots in our garden. I planted them from seed in the winter of 2010, put out the tiny plants in 2011 and then the drought hit with record heat. The plants that survived to bloom this year are the ones that were in part shade ever since they were planted.

While I would love to have had 30 plants survive, I'm glad I tucked them all around the beds to see where they would thrive. Now these plants have been through it all and should spread nicely into their predicted 24-inch width. Gorgeous blue blossoms.

Veronicas come with white, pink, blue, lavender and purple flowers. Some are ground huggers and others are 3-feet tall. Look for
Veronica austriaca, Veronica gentianoides, Veronica incana, Veronica longifolia and Veronica spicata. They all bloom with racemes of densely packed blue-shaded flowers except for those few white and pink

ones in the mix.





 

Veronicas are easy-care plants. The silver leaf varieties are drought tolerant.

They are free of insect and disease problems.

Just keep them watered but keep their feet out of standing water! They thrive at the front of the border where they can dry out.




9.12.12 update - Despite record heat and drought the plants continue to hang in there. I didn't get around to deadheading - cutting off the spent flowers in time for the plants to get a second bloom. When it's 110 F (43C) we don't do much other than drag hoses (to the tune of a monthly $380 water bill) and drink tea. Now that the temperatures are cooling to the 90s (32C) and I am watering again, the plants still look decent. I'm snapping off the seedheads and putting into the flower beds so maybe I'll get some volunteer plants next spring.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Gardens are not just places where one grows plants and vegetables.
In fact hanging baskets are all about the blend of functionality and utility with
the elegance of placing hanging baskets. Once the foundation for your home has been selected, it is now time to select the proper home and garden decor.


Here is my page: free backyard garden ideas
April 4, 2013 at 1:58 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

-
Image
Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicid...
Read more

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

-
Image
Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodicall...
Read more

Create Nesting Areas for Birds and Wildlife

-
Image
From the website, Choose Natives , this lovely and instructive article helped remind me to continue to increase the amount of habitat and nesting that we provide in our garden. Many, though not all, are native or considered to be native in Oklahoma. So, I did a little research on each recommended plant and provided a link to more information. You'll see the plant name in italics - those are my links for your edification. Here's the post Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs.  His lecture, ‘ Native Plants for Nesting Birds: Connecting Flora and Fauna’,  given to a group of enthusiasts at the Millersville Native Plant Conference   in Pennsylvania, focused on his observations. Here are Derek’s landscaping recommendations for attracting birds: Plant shrubs in clusters (“habitat circles”) that will c...
Read more