Speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue'
Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue' · Plantaginaceae
Dense spikes of dark violet-blue over crinkled, glossy leaves, from June until frost if the spent spikes are removed.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue'
The planner designed this bed around speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' × 3, blue
- 2 Winter heath × 5, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 5, red
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 5 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 3, purple
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Darwin hybrid tulip × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- The only blue.
Why here
- Near the front. At 20 in it is the step between winter heath (10 in) in front and little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 14 weeks. From late June to mid September.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 25 of the 25 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The flowering year starts with winter heath in late January and ends with Tatarian aster 'Jindai' in early November. Silver sage, winter heath and coral bells 'Firefly' finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The longest-flowering speedwell, raised in Connecticut in 1947 and Perennial Plant of the Year in 1993. A dependable blue vertical for the front half of a border.
- Blue spires all summer
- The front and middle of a border
- Bees and butterflies
What to plant with speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for 12 weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Shasta daisy 'Snowcap': in flower together for nine weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Daylily 'Stella de Oro': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for 14 weeks.
Questions about speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue'
Does speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' need sun or shade?
Speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
What flowers after speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue'?
Speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' is over by mid September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- October daphne: from mid September to late October, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Meadow saffron: from mid September to mid October, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' look like in winter?
Speedwell 'Sunny Border Blue' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Veronica
- Gentian speedwell Veronica gentianoides
- Long-leaved speedwell Veronica longifolia
- Speedwell 'Georgia Blue' Veronica umbrosa 'Georgia Blue'
- Speedwell 'Red Fox' Veronica spicata 'Rotfuchs'
- Speedwell 'Royal Candles' Veronica spicata 'Royal Candles'
- Spike speedwell Veronica spicata
- Woolly speedwell Veronica incana
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September; upright spires; blue, purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.