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Visit most seaside towns and you will see Hebe used in abundance. They love the cool summers and mild winters provided by a maritime climate, but many also make splendid shrubs in industrial settings, often providing a desired low-maintenance ground cover.
Being thoroughly versatile, this genus also has species and cultivars suitable for shrub and flower borders in parks and gardens, while some smaller Hebe are suitable for rock garden planting and small, domed Hebe can look good in containers. In the south and especially south-west of England, being able to withstand salt-laden winds, they are frequently used as hedging material.
The genus is named after the Greek god of youth. Formerly in the family Scrophulariacea, it has been reclassified as a member of the plantain family (Plantaginaceae) and consists of 100 or more species of evergreen shrubs, occasionally trees. They are enjoyed for their dense spikes, panicles or racemes of flowers and for their foliage. Most species are natives of New Zealand. A few are native to Australia, South America and the Falkland Islands.
Plants range from low spreading — excellent for ground cover — through small, mounded shrubs to small trees up to six or seven metres. Leaves are simple and paired, the larger-leaved types being native to coastal areas and lowland scrub, while the small, scale-leaved species are mostly from alpine areas. Flowers, in white, blue, purple or pink, are typically small, four-lobed, tubular to salver-shaped and appear in spring, summer and autumn. Bees and butterflies love them.
Easy to grow and performing well in the UK, many Hebe are highly valued subjects on the landscaper's palette. They will grow in a wide range of soils, but for success it should be free-draining. These plants love to bathe in full sun, although they will tolerate partial shade. They tend to produce leggy growth in shady conditions. There are some excellent frost-hardy Hebe, but the more tender ones should be protected in harsher winters.
Once established, Hebe are reasonably low-maintenance. They are not particularly hungry but will enjoy a once-a-year feed. When grown for their floral attributes, deadheading the spent blooms will promote further flowering. Other than that, it is simply...