My RC has at least doubled in size (width) since last year and seems to be doing equally as well HOWEVER since everything was so late this year and the spring was so cold, the first blooming just finished up and the second blooming hasn't even started yet, but buds are forming. rwl I find it odd your plants died unless they were really water-logged for a long period of time or unless they were planted in too much shade or a combo of the two. If mine could make through last summers drought and last winters cold temps with little snow cover early in the season, there must have been something terribly wrong with your plants from the start or they simply did not like your conditions. These appear to be tough plants. Kevin

This is its second season in my garden and I am very happy with its performance so far. It didn't do as well as last year but I attribute that to the drought. It still bloomed beautifully both years, but the foliage didn't grow as tall and lush as it did last year (last year we had an abundance of rain that made it very lush). I think this is going to be a great long-term plant for my garden. It needs minimal care and can handle neglect. The flower spikes are really stand out in the garden and last a long time. Sincerely, Danielle

Look at the stem a tad lower down. If it looks like several stems are tightly stuck together, it's called fasciation. Said to be caused by Rhodococcus species. Not fatal. And may not show up next season.

From my experience when I was selling it, 'Goodness Grows' was extremely susceptible to powdery mildew. I can't tell from the picture, but is there any chance the leaves were covered with mildew and that's why they died down? How much sun is there? Too much shade would definitely not help with mildew. Is there any sign of new growth at the crown? It looks like it, but I can't tell if that's just something else growing into it. Either way I think I'd cut it all the way down to the ground and see what happens. 'Royal Candles' is a really nice Veronica I've been growing in my yard for three years now, and I've never seen any sign of mildew, and, if deadheaded promptly, it keeps blooming for at least a couple months. And it's very upright and won't need any support at all like you did with the GG. Skybird