Veronica flower (50 photos) - types, care and planting in open ground

The ground cover plant Veronica has from 300 to 500 species. It is distributed throughout the world, including the Arctic. The Veronica genus includes Red Book, medicinal, ornamental and weed plants. Let's try to figure out whether it is a flower or a weed.

It often happens when a plant taken from nature for use in landscape design becomes an “aggressor”. This happened, for example, with Canadian goldenrod, brought to English gardens from North America. The same can be said about some types of speedwell. This primarily applies to veronica filamentosa, ivy-leaved, field, modest and Persian.

general information

Previously, Veronica was classified as a separate family, but now it has been proven that it belongs to the plantain family. Moreover, this is the most numerous and diverse representative of them. In the garden, Veronica is good in mono plantings and together with other bright flowers.

It is simply impossible to collect a single general description of this genus. There are small herbaceous annuals, and there are tall subshrubs with woody shoots. Leaves and shoots are most often narrow and pubescent, with a grayish tint.

Small delicate buds are collected in long spikelets, and less often - in panicles and umbrellas. Graceful pointed petals look very beautiful and neat. The structure of the rhizome completely depends on the growing conditions - on fertile soils, near water or in rocky areas.

Photo: avsycheva-landscape-design.ru

Combination of Veronica with other plants

Veronica is often used as an excellent group plant, which can be used as one of the main decorative elements in alpine slides, flower beds and mixborders. The main purpose of using veronica in landscape design is to give the garden area ease and lightness. Veronica is suitable for growing near borders, where not every plant can survive.

An excellent combination of plants in the garden would be with buzulnik, bergenia, etc. By the way, even such a simple combination as speedwell and chamomile can create harmony in any area of the garden.

Advice. If you are willing to take risks for the sake of a spectacular garden plot, try using contrasting combinations: for example, speedwell and rose. As a result, you will get a winning composition in which each element will be beautifully emphasized by the other.

These are all the subtleties that need to be taken into account when growing veronica in open ground. Good luck!

Types of speedwell

The genus of Veronica is truly huge: more than 300 species of this plant. They are distributed throughout the world, and almost half of them are found in Russia. Let's look at the most popular ones!

Oak speedwell

Found in forests and fields. Bushes up to 40 cm high are covered with loose inflorescences with rather large blue buds - up to 1 cm each.

Photo: zhvnature.blogspot.com

Medicinal Veronica

It is what is traditionally used in folk medicine, and it also makes spectacular ground cover mats. Medicinal speedwell grows on the poorest sandy soils.

Photo: sventameat.ru

Armenian speedwell

Dense but compact perennial with numerous lying shoots up to 10 cm in length. It has feathery, dissected leaves and lilac or blue buds.

Photo: kashtandesign.ru

Gentian speedwell

Medium-sized variety up to 45 cm with beautiful leafy rosettes. The peduncles themselves are almost twice as tall, with multi-flowered spike-shaped inflorescences of white color.

Photo: flowers-flora.ru

thread speedwell

One of the most aggressive species that can easily grow throughout the entire garden. It takes root with all its parts simply upon contact with the ground.

Photo: nn.ru

Big Veronica

A tall variety up to 70 cm high with fleecy single shoots and a powerful rhizome. The large speedwell has spectacular spikelets of inflorescences, and it also winters well even in Siberia.

Photo: flickr.com

Spike speedwell

This species is characterized by amazing color diversity. In addition to blue and blue varieties, white, pink and purple are very common. The height of spikelet veronica is up to 40 cm.

Photo: zen.yandex.ru

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Description of the plant

The genus Veronica is very diverse and includes inconspicuous, creeping herbaceous plants, tough perennials and large shrubs, so there is plenty to choose from. The plant belongs to the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). In its natural environment it is found throughout almost all of Europe and Asia, in regions with temperate climates. This is a popular garden plant in our country. Most speedwells are unpretentious and easy to grow, suitable even for novice gardeners.

The Latin name was given to the plant in 1542 by the German botanist Leonard Fuchs in honor of Saint Veronica. Veronica also has many other names, including folk ones - snake, Andreev's grass, plakun-grass, snake grass, cyanosis, goat's muzzle.

The genus Veronica contains more than 250 species with different needs and appearance and is widespread in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Depending on the type, plants can reach a height of 10 to 200 cm. Variegated flowers can grow singly in the axils of the leaves or form loose or dense clusters. Flowering times also differ from one species to another:

high varieties bloom in July and remain until frost;
low – from spring to late summer.

Speedwells are valuable honey plants.

Caring for Veronica

The specifics of caring for Veronica completely depend on the specific species, or more precisely, on the conditions of its growth in nature. But we tried to systematize the information and come up with general recommendations!

Temperature and lighting

Spiked and large veronica prefer the sun, while forest and oak species grow better in partial shade. Almost all of them are equally resistant to heat and frost. In nature, Veronica prefers a temperate or cool climate.

Photo: fermer.ru

Watering

Veronica does not need additional watering and easily tolerates drought. Only if the dry season is too long can you water the planting a little several times. Moisture-loving species include species that live in water, as well as spikelet and gentian speedwell.

Photo: marusin-sad.com

The soil

Mountain and rocky species grow best on rocky soils. Medicinal and longleaf plants prefer fertile soil. Oak and forest trees need good drainage and low acidity. Sandy loam and loam are also suitable.

Photo: baumschule-horstmann.de

Fertilizers and fertilizing

If the site is chosen correctly, fertilizing for Veronica is not needed at all. If the soil is too poor and scarce, you can apply fertilizer literally once a season.

Photo: look.com.ua

Wintering

Perennial speedwell does not need shelter for the winter, even in our latitudes. It easily tolerates frosts down to -30 degrees, and generally feels great in the northern hemisphere.

Photo: wiki2.org

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Growing Tips

It is possible to constantly admire the beauty of a plant and inhale the wonderful aroma emanating from it if you take into account the following techniques and little tricks:

To ensure that Veronica blooms last as long as possible, it is recommended to thin out the inflorescences. This must be done as carefully and carefully as possible, avoiding damage to neighboring shoots, and without getting carried away by destroying a large number of buds;
An excellent technique to ensure long-term appearance of flowers is to combine several plant varieties when planting, taking into account different flowering times;
To use water sparingly, maintain soil moisture and control weed growth, experienced gardeners recommend periodically acidifying the soil. Such measures will not only fulfill these tasks, but will also benefit the plant, which responds well to slightly acidic soil;

the volume of flowering can be increased with the help of a little trick - after the first branches appear on the stems, you should sharply reduce the amount of watering, while preventing the soil from drying out;
to improve the flowering process, the plant should be fed in moderation, focusing on potassium (once a year) and nitrogen fertilizers (during the growing season);
To prevent the crop from going wild and losing its delightful appearance, it is necessary to constantly remove weeds;

It is recommended to subject the Veronica flower to rejuvenating procedures every 5 years, dividing the bush into several parts according to the developed instructions with attached photo-step-by-step actions.

Planting and propagation of Veronica

The easiest way to propagate an adult healthy bush is by division in early spring. Young cuttings are rooted in sand or peat under a jar, and then transplanted into the garden at a distance of 30-50 cm.

Young tops take root in moist soil in partial shade. This is done in the summer, and the length of the cuttings is 10 cm. The seeds are sown in open soil at the end of autumn, but such bushes will bloom in a year. Otherwise, there are no more tricks or secrets here at all.

Photo: sventameat.ru

Planting a plant in open ground

The plant is considered to be quite unpretentious to growing conditions, therefore, when choosing a suitable site for growing speedwell in open ground, it is not necessary to make a strict selection: the plant is suitable for heavy clay soil, loose sandstone, and swampy soil.

Advice. Although speedwell is not a picky plant, it is very sensitive to the amount of sunlight, so the place for planting the crop must be chosen exclusively sunny (in extreme cases, partial shade will do, but dense, beautiful flowering will be much more difficult to achieve).

Planting a young plant or seeds must be done in moist and well-loosened soil, previously enriched with nutritious organic matter.

Pest and disease control

Sometimes Veronica suffers from powdery mildew, but fungicides help. It is more difficult with ring spot, which is transmitted to certain species from raspberries. This is a virus, and the affected plant must be removed as soon as possible.

Veronica leaves are eaten by different types of caterpillars - cutworms, moths, and garden moths. But more dangerous enemies are aphids and nematodes, which multiply rapidly. Special nematicides are used against nematodes, and complex insecticides help against all other pests.

Photo: pt.wikipedia.org

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Veronica is like a nasty weed

One has only to leave Veronica to its own devices, and it will immediately take over the entire flowerbed or alpine hill, displacing other flowers, becoming the mistress of the beds and littering the lawn. Particularly dangerous in this regard is Veronica filamentous, which can grow even from a small shoot.

Covering the ground with a dense carpet, it does not allow cultivated plants to reproduce (seeds simply do not fall into the soil, being retained in its leaves), and it simply drowns out smaller flowers and herbs.

Therefore, if you do not want to wage an unequal fight with this “aggressor”, it is better to refrain from allowing him into the site. To drive away Veronica, sometimes you even have to remove the top layer of soil.

Veronica flower – photo

We advise you to first decide what you need flowers for, and then choose the appropriate type of veronica. Different varieties are good for rock gardens, rockeries, flowering carpets, pond decoration and even for tall vertical accents.

Photo: za.pinterest.com

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