The Pink Goblin Veronica, otherwise known as the Veronica Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ or European Cranberrybush ‘Compactum’, Guelder Rose ‘Compactum’, Water Elder ‘Compactum’, Cramp Bark ‘Compactum’, Snowball Tree ‘Compactum’, European Cranberry Bush ‘Compactum’, European Cranberry Tree ‘Compactum’, Marsh Alder ‘Compactum’, Ople Tree ‘Compactum’, Red Elder ‘Compactum’, Rose Elder ‘Compactum’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate 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 Pink Goblin Veronica Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Pink Goblin Veronica are the following:
- Water: The Pink Goblin Veronica grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
- Light: Keep your Veronica Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Pink Goblin Veronica in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Pink Goblin Veronica will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Pink Goblin Veronica belongs to the Viburnaceae family, the genus Viburnum and the species Opulus, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Veronica Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ (veh-RON-ih-ka spi-KAH-tuh).
As with other Viburnum’s, the Pink Goblin Veronica is a semi-evergreen plant, which means it will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
Growing Region
The Pink Goblin Veronica is a plant native to the Europe and North America.
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 Pink Goblin Veronica is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Veronica Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 2b, 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Pink Goblin Veronica is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Pink Goblin Veronica are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Veronica Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ can grow up to 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) and 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm).
These dimensions make the Pink Goblin 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.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 48″ – 72″ (120cm – 180cm) free so the Pink Goblin Veronica can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Pink Goblin Veronica is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Veronica Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
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 Pink Goblin Veronica in soil with moist but well-draining to 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, moist, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Pink Goblin Veronica then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Pink Goblin Veronica needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Pink Goblin Veronica prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, and occasionally wet 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 Pink Goblin Veronica requires soil with high organic matter, 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 Pink Goblin 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 Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ 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 semi-evergreen plant, the Pink Goblin Veronica will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
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 Pink Goblin Veronica to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its long bloom season, flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Pink Goblin Veronica produces some beautiful pink, or gold/yellow and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Pink Goblin 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 Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
The Pink Goblin 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.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Pink Goblin Veronica will look best in it.
Most Veronica Spicata ‘Pink Goblin’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, coastal garden, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Pink Goblin Veronica’s best location within your garden is in hedges and screens, beds and borders, and in small gardens, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, border, cutting garden, or a rock garden.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Pink Goblin Veronica, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
