The Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica, otherwise known as the Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ or Linden Viburnum Cardinal Candy®, Viburnum dilatatum ‘Henneke’ PP12870, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica are the following:
- Water: The Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica belongs to the Viburnaceae family, the genus Viburnum and the species Dilatatum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’.
As with other Viburnum’s, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica is a plant native to the Asia.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 5 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ can grow up to 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm) in 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm) and 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm) in 6′ – 8′ (180cm – 240cm).
These dimensions make the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 96″ – 120″ (240cm – 300cm) free so the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica produces some beautiful blue, or cream/tan and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for drought and animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ will be fine.
Garden
Does your Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Veronica Rupestris ‘Heavenly Blue’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in hedges and screens, others use it for landscaping in a cutting garden, border, or a rock garden.
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Heavenly Blue Harebell Veronica in your garden or home.
