Hebe Snowdrift

Hebe 'Snowdrift' (Hebe hybrid 'Snowdrift') is a rounded evergreen shrub to about 1m tall and 1m wide that covers itself in white flower spikes without asking for much in return. The habit is naturally neat, so it holds a dome shape with one light trim a year. It came out of New Zealand and it shows: salt, wind and frost barely register.

Why you'll love it

• White flowers over a long season. Short spikes sit above the foliage, and bees and butterflies work them steadily while they last.
• It shapes itself. The growth is dense and even, so a low hedge at 80cm spacing needs shearing once, not four times.
• Built for exposed coastal blocks. Salt spray and constant wind are what this plant was bred for, and it stays furnished rather than going one sided.
• Frost hardy and drought tolerant. It handles cold southern winters once established and dry summers on a Mediterranean block.

Where it works best

Low hedging and borders. Plant 80cm apart for a low hedge. At that spacing the plants close within two seasons and you keep a defined edge at around knee to hip height.

Coastal gardens. Use it on the front line of a beach block where salt burns softer shrubs, or as a wind filter in front of more tender planting.

Mass planting and pots. A drift of five or seven at 80cm centres reads well on a slope. In a pot 400mm or wider it works as a clipped ball beside a door.

Growing Hebe Snowdrift in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering and the tightest habit. This is a cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean plant. Be honest with yourself about your summers: humid subtropical and tropical gardens are hard on it, and plants there tend to thin out and rot at the base.

Soil. Drainage is the one thing it will not compromise on. Heavy wet clay kills it, so plant on a raised mound or in a bed lifted 200mm with coarse compost and grit worked through.

Water and feed. Water deeply once a week through the first summer, then only in extended dry weather. A light dose of controlled release fertiliser in early spring is plenty; rich feeding produces soft growth that flops.

Pruning. Shear lightly after the main flush of flowers, taking no more than a third. Hebes reshoot poorly from bare old wood, so never cut back into leafless stems.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown as tube stock, which is a young plant a few months old with a well filled root plug. It is the economical way to plant a long border, and it establishes fast because the roots have not been sitting in a big pot. Expect a bushy plant by the end of the first year and close to full size in the second.

Tubes travel well and arrive packed upright. Plants 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

• Choosing plants for a coastal garden
• Browse coastal and salt tolerant plants
• Compare evergreen shrubs for structure
• Low maintenance shrubs for Australian gardens

Common questions

How far apart for a low hedge?

Plant 80cm apart in a single row. Closer than that and the plants shade each other at the base, which is exactly where a hebe struggles to recover.

Will it grow in Brisbane or further north?

It is not the right pick. Humid subtropical summers and warm wet nights encourage root and stem rot, so northern gardeners are better served by a westringia or a coastal rosemary.

Can I cut it back hard if it gets leggy?

No. It shoots reluctantly from bare wood, so a hard cut often leaves you with a stump. Trim a third after flowering each year and the problem never starts.