Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Shrubby Veronica

Description:

A lovely, bushy shrub presenting attractive, bronze-green glossy foliage; large spikes of rose-pink flowers appear from spring to fall; ideal for gardens, borders, and containers; prune lightly to maintain shape

Ornamental Features

Wiri Desire Hebe has masses of beautiful spikes of rose star-shaped flowers with pink overtones rising above the foliage from mid spring to mid fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. Its attractive glossy oval leaves emerge coppery-bronze in spring, turning dark green in colour with pointy dark red spines the rest of the year. The dark red stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Wiri Desire Hebe is an open multi-stemmed annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Wiri Desire Hebe is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Wiri Desire Hebe will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. To help this plant achive its best flowering performance, periodically apply a flower-boosting fertilizer from early spring through into the active growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Wiri Desire Hebe is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.