Common name: Creeping speedwell
Latin name: Veronica repens
Plant type: Groundcover
Plant size: 1″ high, spreading 6-12″
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-8
Cultural needs: Normal or sandy; well drained, moist soil; full sun to part shade
Dwarfs and dwarf trees won’t be obscured when surrounded by this mat-forming creeping speedwell. Here, in full bloom during June in Zone 3, shiny 1/2″ evergreen leaves and pale 1/4″ blue-to-white flowers can billow up a bit higher in warmer zones and may become invasive. Shearing the prostrate stems flat after blooming will keep the plants tidy and healthy and encourage next-year’s blooms. During its green phase, it’s quite moss-like. Veronica repens, like many alpines, needs gritty-but-moist soil. It won’t tolerate excessive drought—otherwise, it’s a rugged groundcover and forgives moderate foot traffic, as between paving stones.
This may be the lowest of the hundreds of veronicas. Nurseries will display speedwell’s masses of blue flowers in spring. A yellow-leafed hybrid, possibly V. r. ‘Sunshine’ (Zones 5-9), is pictured under the orange “mushroom” and mounds to about 4-6″ high. Veronicas are easy to reproduce by divisions, seeds, cuttings,
or simple ground layering.
