Hebe Annie’s Winter Wonder

Hebe 'Annie's Winter Wonder' (Hebe hybrid, now classified under Veronica) is the low evergreen shrub that flowers when most of the garden has stopped. It forms a tidy mound roughly 80cm tall and 80cm wide, covered in short purple and white spikes that bees and butterflies work through the cooler months. Coastal wind and salt do not trouble it, which is rare in a plant this neat.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers in the quiet season. Purple and white spikes appear when little else is in bloom, so a border keeps colour through the cold months.
• Neat without clipping. It builds a dense, rounded mound around 80cm each way and holds that shape on its own.
• Coastal and windy sites suit it. Salt tolerant and wind tolerant, so a front garden facing the sea or an exposed corner block is fair territory.
• Feeds bees and butterflies. The flower spikes are a genuine nectar source at a time of year when forage is thin.

Where it works best

Borders and low mass planting. Plant 50cm apart for a continuous low border. At that spacing the mounds meet within two seasons and the planting reads as one soft band rather than separate shrubs.

Coastal gardens and pots. Use it on the exposed side of a bed, where salt laden wind burns softer plants. A 400mm pot suits one plant in a courtyard or compact front garden.

Growing Hebe 'Annie's Winter Wonder' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering and the tightest habit. It is at its best in cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and it is frost hardy once established. Be honest about the limits: hebes dislike long humid summers, so in subtropical and tropical gardens they are short lived at best and a different low shrub is the better choice.

Soil. Free draining soil is the one non negotiable. Hebes rot in wet feet, so on clay build the bed up, add compost and coarse material, and keep 75mm of mulch clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then only a deep soak in dry spells. A light application of controlled release fertiliser in early spring is enough, since rich feeding makes soft growth that flops.

Pruning. Trim lightly straight after flowering, taking the spent spikes and a few centimetres of growth. Avoid cutting into bare old wood, because hebes reshoot from it slowly and unreliably.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in three sizes: tube stock, 140mm in packs of ten and 200mm in packs of six, with the larger packs moving onto backorder at busy times. Tubes are the value option for a long border, and 200mm plants give a fuller shrub in the first season.

Plants arrive bushy rather than in flower, and a young hebe often looks smaller than expected until its second spring. Expect it to fill out over two seasons. Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse coastal and salt tolerant plants
• Choosing plants for a coastal garden
• Compare plants that feed bees and butterflies
• More shrubs suited to small gardens

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a border?

Fifty centimetres apart in a single row. That is close enough for the mounds to knit into a continuous low edge and far enough to keep air moving between plants, which matters with hebes.

Will it grow in a humid subtropical garden?

Not reliably. Hebes come from a cool, breezy climate and long humid summers shorten their life considerably. In warm humid districts, treat it as a short term container plant or choose something better suited.

Why did my plant suddenly collapse?

Almost always wet feet. Hebes will not survive a soil that stays soggy, so check the drainage, raise the bed if needed and ease back on watering through cool weather.