Shrub
How to grow hebes
Hebe (Veronica) species and hybrids
Hebes need full sun and soil that drains freely, and they do especially well in mild and coastal gardens. Plant in April or May so the roots are established before winter. Hardiness follows leaf size: small-leaved hebes shrug off most UK winters, while the large-leaved, long-flowered hybrids need shelter. Keep the soil lean, trim lightly after flowering and never cut into bare wood, and expect to replace plants after 8 to 10 years.
- Hardiness
- Hardy to frost-hardy; large-leaved types tender
- Position
- Full sun
- Soil
- Free-draining; coastal-tolerant
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting hebes
WhenPlant Apr to May; flowers Jun to Oct by type; trim after flowering
Starting off
Plant pot-grown stock Apr to May so it establishes before winter; autumn planting on cold clay fails. Propagate by 8 to 10 cm semi-ripe cuttings in Jul to Sep with the lower leaves stripped, rooting in 4 to 6 weeks at 15 to 18°C in gritty compost; always keep a few on the go, since hebes are short-lived and winter losses are common.
Spacing and planting
Small-leaved types (H. pinguifolia 'Pagei', H. rakaiensis) spread 60 to 90 cm by 90 cm; large-leaved hybrids 1 to 1.5 m by 1.5 m. Plant 60 to 100 cm apart in a hole twice the pot width with 2 cm of grit worked into heavy soil. The dwarf types are among the best shrubs for a 30 cm pot of gritty compost.
Varieties worth growing
- H. rakaiensis
- Neat, bright green dome to 90 cm with white flowers in June; one of the hardiest and a good low informal hedge.
- H. pinguifolia 'Pagei'
- Blue-grey leaves on a 30 cm carpet with white flowers in May and June; tough ground cover for a sunny bank or pot.
- 'Red Edge'
- Grey-green leaves edged red, strongest in winter, with lilac flowers in summer; compact and hardy at 45 cm.
- 'Great Orme'
- Long pink spikes fading to white from July to October on a 1.2 m shrub; needs a sheltered spot inland.
- 'Midsummer Beauty'
- Lilac-purple spikes from midsummer well into autumn on a larger shrub; among the tougher of the large-leaved hybrids.
Hebes month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do. Fleece large-leaved types in hard frost.
- February
Nothing to do. Keep pots on the dry side.
- March
Nothing to do. Leave frost-damaged growth on for now.
- April
Plant. Cut out frost-blackened shoots. Light feed on poor soil and for pots.
- May
Plant. Early small-leaved types begin to flower. Water new plants weekly.
- June
Trim small-leaved hebes as their flowers fade.
- July
Semi-ripe cuttings. Deadhead and lightly trim as each flush finishes. Last date for any feeding.
- August
Cuttings. Water pots; plants in the ground rarely need it.
- September
Last cuttings. Trim later-flowering types as they finish.
- October
Final light trim of the latest flowerers early in the month. Pot up rooted cuttings.
- November
Raise pots on feet and move them out of cold wind.
- December
Nothing to do.
Feeding hebes
A light feeder that is hardier and longer-lived when kept lean. In ordinary garden soil feed nothing; a small dose in April helps on very poor sand and in pots, and nothing should go on after July.
Low, lean, free-draining soil; over-feeding gives soft, tender growth.
Feeding plan
Planting
5 g per litre of root ball, dusted on the roots: 10 g for a 2 litre pot, 15 g for a 3 litre pot.
Every year, plants in ordinary soil
No fertiliser
None. Rich soil gives soft growth that the first hard frost blackens.
April, very poor sandy or coastal soil
50 g/m², half the label rate, once: about 25 g for a plant 80 cm across (0.5 m²).
Potting
5 g per litre of compost: 60 g for a 30 cm pot holding about 12 litres.
April, pots
2 g per litre on the surface, watered in: about 25 g for a 30 cm pot, once a year.
April to May, after a hard winter
1 g per litre of water as a drench, weekly for 2 to 3 weeks after cutting out the frost damage.
Signs to watch
Soft, floppy growth that blackens in the first frost
Excess nitrogen or rich soil
No feeding, lean soil, full sun
Yellow leaves and dieback on one side in winter
Waterlogging rotting the roots, not hunger
Improve drainage, replant on a mound
Older leaves yellow between the veins in a pot
Magnesium short after repeated potash feeds
Epsom salts drench, then a balanced feed only
Pests, diseases and problems
Yellow patches on the upper leaf with grey-brown fuzzy growth beneath; shoot tips stunted
Downy mildew, most common in wet weather and on young or crowded plants
Cut out and bin affected shoots promptly, water at the base in the morning, and give plants space and sun. Do not propagate from an infected plant.
Round brown or purple-edged spots on the leaves, which then drop
Fungal leaf spot in damp seasons
Trim off the worst growth after flowering, clear fallen leaves from under the plant and avoid overhead watering.
Leaves and shoots blackened after a cold spell, sometimes with split bark
Frost damage, mainly on large-leaved types and on soft, well-fed growth
Leave it until April, then cut back to live shoots. Fleece large-leaved hebes when below minus 5 °C is forecast and do not feed after midsummer.
Branches wilt and brown one after another, roots dark and rotten
Phytophthora root rot in wet soil or waterlogged pots
No cure. Remove the plant and the soil round its roots, and replant hebes only where drainage has been improved.
Shoot tips sticky and distorted in early summer
Aphids
Rub them off or wash them away with a jet of water; natural predators catch up by July.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Flowers on the current season's growth, so trim lightly straight after flowering (Jul to Oct by type), removing the spent spikes and 2 to 5 cm of shoot to keep a dense dome. Never cut into bare old wood, which seldom regrows; replace leggy plants after 8 to 10 years rather than renovating. Cut out frost-blackened shoots in Apr, not earlier. Fleece large-leaved types below −5°C and keep pots on the dry side
Good to knowGood by the coast; trim lightly after flowering. Larger-leaved types are less hardy.
Growing hebes in pots
Dwarf and small-leaved hebes are excellent in pots. Use a 30 cm pot of loam-based compost with a quarter grit, in full sun. Water when the top few centimetres are dry; hebes cope with wind and salt but not with a saucer of standing water. In winter raise the pot on feet and keep it on the dry side, moving large-leaved kinds against a house wall. Trim after flowering and repot every 2 to 3 years.
Hebes: common questions
Can I cut a hebe back hard?
No, hard pruning usually kills it, because old bare wood seldom produces new shoots. Trim lightly after flowering, removing the spent spikes and a few centimetres of leafy growth. If a plant is already leggy and bare at the base, take cuttings in July to September and replace it.
Are hebes hardy in the UK?
Small-leaved hebes such as H. rakaiensis, 'Pagei' and 'Red Edge' are hardy through most UK winters. The large-leaved hybrids with long flower spikes are reliable only in mild, coastal or sheltered town gardens and can be lost below about minus 5 °C. Good drainage improves the hardiness of all of them.
Why is my hebe turning brown?
Brown or black shoots in late winter are frost damage; branches browning one at a time in a wet spot point to root rot. Cut frosted growth back to live wood in April. A plant with rotten roots will not recover and should be replaced somewhere better drained.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow hebes (shrubby veronica)RHS
- How to grow hebesBBC Gardeners' World
- Shrubs: pruning evergreensRHS