I grow three of the ones you mentioned, plus a few others. 'Red Fox' didn't do so great for me- lacked vigor. It might have done better if I had put it in the best spot in my garden, rather than the average spot it is in now. Last year was the first time my 'Icicle' bloomed. It is a very healthy plant, but for some reason I did not care for the blooms. The white was a pure color, but I didn't like the way it looked against the green stems. Kind of looked weedy. Lol! I know, I am picky ;-) 'Eveline' is a very nice plant. It stands at about a foot tall with pink/purple flowers. Downside is that it gets some ugly black spot (no mildew so far, which is interesting). It reseeds a bit too, which is neat. And seedlings come true! -perennialfan, I have seeds of Eveline if you are interested... I agree with Coolplantsguy, 'Royal Candles' is a nice plant. Shorter than the others I mentioned, but wonderfully floriferous and great color. Gets bad mildew after blooming though. Cut back and it will grow again. P.S. A great look-alike alternative to Veronica is Teucrium hircanicum, Iranian Germander. CMK Here is a link that might be useful: Teucrium hircanicum 'Purple Tails'

Rouge, will definitely add pics next season when RC comes back established! Perhaps someone can help me on this one. When I bought my first 1g plant a few weeks ago (not the clearance one mentioned above) it was in full bloom from a nursery. I actually hated buying it as such because I know it's been greenhouse grown and pumped up and quite out of sync with the season. But it was the first place I had seen it. Got it home separated into two, sorry patent police. The stems were really woody, as were the roots, more like shrub. Is that how it grows? As I thought, the full blooms turned brown and spent after a few days of being planted. But where I had divided has started pushing up new, fresh growth from the base. I'm now wondering if this new growth will flower later in the season?

I don't think I got a pic of it in bloom (done now). I might have taken one for an ID if I had thought it was anything other than that cultivar. But it is indeed 'Icicle' (or at the very least V. spicata, lol!). Looks just like the pic in the link except for flower color. Has the same soft serration on the leaves, flower height and habit the same, anther and fillament the same (looks similar to V. gentianoides to me). The foliage in that pic is a tad darker, but I suspect it has less sun exposure than mine did in that first spot. Maybe mine will darken up a bit in the slightly shaded position it is in now. I looked again an there seems to be some Proliferation on the plant as well; a side flower head comming of of the original spent ones. Very interesting, but I imagine it will go away like most proliferation does. I think it is fairly common on Veronica anyway. I suppose I could have gotten a dud plant. It happens. ;-) CMK

they tend to get scale in the summer. but the rat-tail is supposedly one of the crops you could, if you wanted, grow over the summer here in FLA. i think castorp tried it out. maybe he'll chime in. all (or at elast all the ones i grow) Brassicaceae put out those little pods. i grow apollo arugula, which is a brassica. (not all arugulas are brassicas.) it, too, puts out the pods after flowering, but very late and slow. this year, i finally had the patience to let it got completely to seed. the pods looked just like radish seed pods, and tasted just like 'em, too. i let them dry and saved them for next year... now, i got thousands of arugula seeds!