Hebe Claret Crush

The Hebe Collection® 'Claret Crush' is a new variety of hybrid Shrubby Veronica with deep purple winter foliage. When the warm days return, the foliage becomes dark green and contrasts with the remaining reddish stems. In June, abundant flowering in blue-violet spikes completes the picture. This relatively hardy small bush is easy to grow in regions where winter is not too severe. This variety naturally forms a beautiful evergreen compact and dense cushion, ornamental throughout the year. The plant is disease-resistant, undemanding regarding soil type and is drought resistant once well established in the garden. It is also an excellent plant for the terrace.

Hebe Collection® 'Claret Crush' is a recent hybrid cultivar, selected in 2016 at the Bransford Webbs nursery in the United Kingdom. It belongs to the Plantaginaceae family and is similar to perennial veronicas. It forms a small regular bush with a compact habit, somewhat spreading, around 60 cm (24 in) in all directions. Its reddish stems, which lignify with age, bear thin elliptical leaves, about 2.5 cm (1 in) long, thick and leathery, of a shiny dark green colour. The winter foliage is a very rich purple. Flowering mainly takes place in June-July, sometimes with a second bloom in autumn. It takes the form of simple lateral inflorescences resembling long thin bottlebrushes of 5 cm (2 in). They are composed of a multitude of small flowers: the flower buds, slightly tinged with white, reveal the delicacy of their blue-violet attire when they open. Pruning after flowering is recommended to maintain a compact habit and a neat appearance to this shrubby veronica.

With slow growth and relative hardiness (down to -10°C (14 °F) for 'Claret Crush'), Hebes are generally offered alongside perennial plants because their usage is closer to these than to shrubs. The 'Claret Crush' variety, on the other hand, has a naturally compact and dense growth that is well suited for decorating terraces and balconies, mixed with heathers or creeping rosemary, for example. In favourable climates it can create neat flowering borders throughout the summer, and richly coloured decoration in winter. In cold regions, Hebes can be grown in large pots on the terrace, to be stored in a bright and unheated room in winter.