I wish I had worthy pictures to share but I don’t. I planted 10-11 tiny Veronica Aspire this summer. They did bloom, but the plants were very small so I did not bother taking pictures. Yours are beautiful!! I especially like Red Fox!

Maz thanks, and thats how my Veronique are...tiny!

I totally forgot about Royal Candles...not quite this dark-taken at dusk. These are my best re-bloomers.

I also have Royal Candles which I like it for the clean foliage, tidy plant, rich flower color, and rebloom. In general, however, I don’t like the spiky Veronicas because I had a miserable experience early on in my gardening with some that grew about 3x as tall as they were supposed to and had an unreasonable proportion of tatty foliage when compared to the amount of flowers. And then there was one spiky ”rock garden” Veronica that had just 10 days or so of beautiful blue flowers followed by a mess of tangled foliage all season as well as several others that didn’t survive winters, so I kind of gave up on spiky Veronicas unless highly recommended by many such as RC.

I do love the low growing evergreen Veronica ‘Georgia Blue’ which grows here in both full sun and 3/4 shade and everything in between. It has clean, fine-textured foliage, little cobalt blue flowers in spring along with a few in fall, and the cold weather foliage takes on a mahogany cast that looks great both before the snow and in spring after snow melt.

I have added some photos of ‘Georgia Blue’ below.

Babs I’m curious what Kind of conditions you have your Georgia Blues growing in? I have them in two areas and have found them to be unimpressive, looking nothing like the photos I’ve seen...whats the secret?

Hi GardenHo, what are those tall yellow flowers in the first pic and would they survive zone 7 VA?

Hi Harold, those are Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa). Not to be confused with the invasive variety. I’m not a big fan of yellow but I do like the color of this one. Also, yes they should be hardy for you.

I don't have them any more, but I had, and continue to look for, V. incana spicata 'Silbersee'. I did grow them from seed, so maybe I got them from Jelitto. It's really possible. But that was 19-20 years ago, so don't quote me on that. It's short, has silver foliage and is just gorgeous. Especially with golden yellows.

Jelitto's seeds

where's archie?

I love veronica and love looking at all your photos. So gorgeous! I will have to do better next year at getting pictures!

Ken...He’s with Jughead of course!! Lol

Peren thanks for sharing! I can see why your favorite is the Noah Williams... Love the white edges. I have to say it was weird to first view your varieties..as I thought they were my pictures LOL. I’ll have to try moving my Georgia blues to more sun, thank you!

GH, I have one area where Georgia Blue gets less than 3 hours of sun, and it grows less densely, weaving around other plants. In the first photo below, I think the flowers were starting to fade since they usually pretty much cover the plants and are bright, bluer than the photos’ color.

In the other space they get sun from perhaps 9 or 9:30 am until the sun sinks behind the trees around dinner time and the whole plant is typically a dense spill of foliage, reddish in cold weather and dark green in summer. This photo would look better except that over this winter the voles were quite hungry. I was amazed at how well the plant filled in and bloomed despite the winter chomping.

The foliage is lighter green in shade, but the flower color is a deep cobalt blue in sun or shade, something that my camera just cannot capture accurately.

I love all Veronicas, but my favorite is "Darwin's Blue" -- gorgeous for many years, quite tall for me and a bloom maniac. Sadly, I lost it a couple of years ago, who knows why, and I can't seem to find plants offered any longer.

Am a fan of veronicas as well.

Creeping type: I've moved from 'Georgia Blue' to 'Waterperry Blue' which seems more compact for filling in small areas.

Spiked type: Love the range of flower colours. Agree that some of the oldies like Sunny Border Blue are reliable and can be reasonably long-lived. I read someone complaining about the occasional fasciation (cresting) in Sunny Border Blue, seem in one of GardenHo's pictures above. Personally, feel it just adds interest in the same way that fasciation does with Veronicastrum 'Fascination'.

I like the compactness and sturdiness of some more recent acquisitions; namely, First Love and First Lady and am very happy with a 'Royal Rembrandt', planted three years ago. It really is a prolific flower (with deadheading and some cutting back). Pictures below; first, July 8 and then, September 4 of this year. Suspect that this particular plant also has the advantage of not being so crammed into mixed herbaceous perennial situations as most of the veronica I've planted and maintained.

"Lavender Charm" and "Icicle" -- long, graceful flower spikes on both. I haven't seem them for sale in years...too bad or else I'd pick up more.

I have a couple oddball short ones, one is "Eveline" and not sure of the other one. They're alright but nothing to write home about.

As assumed, the older cultivars (as above) are proven survivors; one good reason to actually selectively purchase them. The pink one may be 'Pink Damask'. Always interesting to get information on the survivability of perennial cultivars in real gardens with real gardeners.

^^ If you stumble on any "Lavender Charm" or "Icicle" during your online shopping trips, please let me know!

Mxk bluestone carries ‘icicle’.

^^ Thanks!

Hey, I have a few questions about veronica. How hardy are they? Do they reliably come back year after year? Do they spread? And how many weeks of the summer do they bloom? Thanks in advance

I'm posting a picture of my Veronica longifolia 'Eveline'. I planted it in 2010, has seeded a littl but nothing crazy but I tend to keep it deadheaded (which will hapen tonight). It started flowering this year mid-June, still getting new flowers as you can see.

L Clark all (but 2 species V. prostrata & possibly V. peduncularis) should be hardy for you and return reliably. They are clump forming. As to how long they bloom is different for each variety but my longest bloomer is Royal Candles. When you google a particular plant the Missouri Botanical Garden has great info. So when it is an option use it.

Clark, yes, most of these spikey flowering plants are very hardy and decent long lived, just like many perennials, some tucker out and appreciate being dug and divided every so often, though others just keep going year after year. Seeding out depends on the variety, some are of no or low fertility, others freely spout new seedlings about with some color variations, 'Pink Marshmallow' has given me many nice dark blue and violet seedlings. I probably get a good six weeks of color from most, definitely worth growing! Oh, here's a really nice seedling with extra LONG spikes, I must divide and spread this plant around the garden!

Aaaaand another plant, I cannot grow. None of 'em...not even peduncularis. Ooops, that's a lie, I have a cluster of veronica gentianoides which flowers for a whole week in May. Go on....taunt me, why don't ya all.

The poor sorry veronicastrums I foolishly stumped up actual £££ for...despite the most loving attention and constant watering, are a measly 2 foot high with the tiniest wee signs of flowering.

and, as usual, the pathetic clump of phlox, which always starts off so well, is beginning to get it's sulk on.

From my aunt's garden, I dug a clump of blue veronica of variety I no longer recall. That wrenched empty gut feeling to enter the gardens of a loved one who has passed, where weeds have since sprouted and eerie quiet carries burden and dreaded heavy sadness. Aunt Mary, her sharp gruff words a facade to underlying kindness and generosity. The two of us picking saskatoons (serviceberries), I cautioned her not to take a tumble upon the deadfall, a few minutes there she goes, I just couldn't contain my laughter, she yells out, "You shut your damned mouth or I'm gonna come punch you in the head!" ... yes, I continued to snicker. I lost my best friend and garden buddy, sorry but I was sooo pissed with her of those damned smokes having claimed her at only 62. The above long spiked veronica a wonderful self sown seedlings of the original plant from aunt Mary's garden.

FrozeBudd your aunt sounds like she was quite a character so you must have other wonderful memories as well. I am so sorry she is gone, I know how hard it must be. Having a seedling of one of her plants is a great tribute to her.

Peren.all, unfortunately despite having lived less then ten minutes apart, I hadn't gotten to know my aunt until a few years prior to her passing, we finally connecting over our love of gardening and berry picking. The lady was stoic never letting on of her diagnosed terminal illness as she continued to purchase plants and shrubs as if nothing was wrong. I stopped by one afternoon and there the slight lady she was laying those nasty huge 2'x2' cement pavers by herself! Oddly, enough the only bit of sensing of something being off was when I had admired the glorious singing of the distant meadowlarks, aunt then calling out "Shut up you stupid birds!" I always think of her when hearing meadowlarks! :)

Moody Blues

Veronica Giles Van Hees and Moody Blues Sky

I need some Veronica in my life

I added "Marietta" last year and have really enjoyed her -- the rich, dark purple-blue color is outstanding, the plants are healthy, have a nice habit (though not the long, graceful spires of "Lavender Charm"...), and the bees flock to it.