Getting the most out of your veronica perennial

Veronica is a beloved old perennial that may have an upright form, with spiky flowers, or be a low-growing, mounding creeper. They are also known as speedwell and both versions are colorful additions to your garden. Here are some tips to make your veronicas shine.

• Give upright-growing veronicas one of the best spots your garden has to offer. The plants produce dozens of 45-centimetre-long (18-inch-long) flower spikes that can be cut regularly to prolong flowering.
• Creeping veronicas are dainty little plants to grow near the base of shrubs or small trees or as edging in beds and containers.
• They bloom in blue, as well as pink, white, lavender and rose, in late spring and summer.  They will occasionally produce more flowers during the summer.
• The plants persist as compact green ground covers after blooming

There are many well-known veronica cultivars with superb qualities that grow in Zones 3 to 5. Here are some of the more popular ones:

• 'Sunny Border Blue' and 'Crater Lake Blue' are outstanding upright veronicas that provide a constant parade of blue flower spikes from early to late summer.
• 'Red Fox' for pink flowers and 'Icicle' for white to mix up the colour scheme of your garden.
• 'Waterperry' are popular among creeping types. It grows only 12 centimetres (five inches) tall, and each plant spreads to 30 centimetres (one foot) wide. It blooms heavily in spring, covering itself with purple-blue blossoms, followed by a few flowers later in summer. The foliage turns bronze in the fall.
• 'Trehane' has golden foliage that contrasts beautifully with its purplish-blue flowers.

• Veronicas need moist, fertile soil, and at least four hours of sun per day.
• Amend planting holes with compost and  add an eight centimetre (three inch) layer of mulch after planting to help keep the soil moist.
• There is no need to fertilize if planted in reasonably fertile soil. Too much fertilizer can cause stems to flop.
• The key to keeping upright veronicas in bloom is regular deadheading. Remove spikes as they fade and new flowers will keep coming.

• A disfiguring fungal disease powdery mildew can make white, powdery patches appear on leaves in late summer when days are hot and nights are cool and damp. Pick off and dispose of infected leaves and avoid splashing on the plants when watering.
• If the disease continues to spread, cut plants to within several centimetres (a few inches) of the soil to encourage healthy new growth.
• Pests are rare, but if small, pear-shaped, sap-sucking aphids appear on stem tips, knock them off with a strong stream of water from a hose.
• Hand pick and dispose of any caterpillars you find nibbling on leaves.

• Divide upright veronicas by cutting off rooted shoots from the outer edges of the clump in spring or fall.
• Propagate spreading veronicas by slicing some rooted stems from the edge of an existing planting with a spade.
• Replant, setting the plantlets in prepared holes the same depth at which the parent plants grew.

Veronicas add beautiful hues and height to a flower garden. Making sure you maintain it properly with these guidelines will help them flourish.