Hebe albicans Red Edge

Hebe 'Red Edge' is an excellent variety of hybrid Shrubby Veronica that will charm with its pastel colours, beautiful density of vegetation, and good cold resistance. This small plant forms a wide globose cushion adorned with dark grey-green leaves that are animated, depending on the season, with a reddish border, purplish to violet young shoots in late winter, and discreet flowering spikes ranging from lilac to white. Quite hardy for a Shrubby Veronica, this selection proves reliable when planted in well-draining soil, in the sun. Compact and decorative all year round, it will make a sensation in a pot on the terrace, in summer compositions, in a rockery, on a slope, or even in a border, for example with winter heathers.

Hebe 'Red Edge' is a proven hybrid cultivar. Like other Hebes, it belongs to the Plantaginaceae family and is related to perennial veronicas. This variety forms, in the space of 4 or 5 years, a small bush with an expanded ball-shaped habit, measuring approximately 45 cm (18 in) in height and 60 cm (24 in) in width. Numerous greyish and sparsely branched stems emerge from the base of the plant, forming a dense basket. They bear thin elliptical leaves, about 1.5 to 2 cm (0.6 to 0.8 in) long, thick and leathery. Starting out pale purple-red, they quickly take on a tender grey-green colour, more or less edged with purple-red, and somewhat greenish in summer. Those located at the tips of the stems turn pinkish-purple in winter. Flowering occurs in June. It takes the form of upright lateral inflorescences aligned with the stem, resembling thin spikes, measuring 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) long. They are composed of numerous small fluffy flowers: the floral buds open into pale mauve flowers, fading almost to white. Pruning after flowering is recommended to maintain a compact habit and neat appearance to this Shrubby Veronica.

With relatively slow growth and varying hardiness, Hebe are generally grouped with perennial plants as their usage is closer to these than to shrubs. The 'Red Edge' variety, hardy down to -15°C, beautifully dense and of modest size, earns its rightful place in a large rockery or on a slope, or in a flower pot on the terrace. It can be enhanced with e.g. catmints, lavenders, and euphorbias. It is fantastic in combination with winter heathers (Erica x darleyensis, E. carnea...). To showcase it on the terrace, consider Pennisetum advena Rubrum (a tall grass with purple foliage), blue perennial geraniums (Rozanne, Rosemoor), or the Senecio Angel Wings with almost white foliage. In very cold regions Hebe can be grown in large pots on the terrace and stored in a bright, unheated space during winter.