Hebe Elegance Blush

Hebe 'Elegance Blush' (Hebe hybrid 'Elegance Blush') is a neat evergreen shrub that holds a tidy dome about 0.8m tall and 0.8m wide without being clipped into shape. Short spikes of pink and white flowers appear over a long season and draw bees and butterflies through the garden. It is the sort of plant you put in once along a path edge and then largely forget about.

Why you'll love it

• Keeps its own shape. Naturally rounded and even, so a row lines up without regular shearing.
• Long flowering. Soft pink and white spikes carry across the warmer months rather than giving one short burst.
• Built for the coast. Salt tolerant and wind tolerant, which makes it one of the safer small shrubs for a beachside front garden.
• Cold is not a problem. Frost hardy, so it holds up through a Ballarat or Canberra winter as well as a mild Perth one.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 0.5m apart for a continuous low border. At that spacing the domes touch and read as one soft line, without crowding each other into leggy growth.

Mass planting. Use the same 0.5m spacing across a bed. The even height makes it useful as a foreground layer in front of taller shrubs.

Pots and small gardens. A pot 300mm or wider suits a single plant. The compact footprint means a courtyard or a narrow strip beside a driveway can carry three or four of them.

Growing Hebe 'Elegance Blush' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the best flowering, with light afternoon shade acceptable inland. This is a plant for warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens: Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and coastal New South Wales all suit it. Hebes dislike humid subtropical summers and are prone to downy mildew in them, so Brisbane and further north are not the right home for this one.

Soil. Free draining soil matters more than fertility. On clay, plant on a raised mound and work compost and coarse material through the bed. Mulch 50mm deep and keep it off the stems.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then move to a deep soak in dry spells only. A complete slow release fertiliser once in early spring is all it needs.

Pruning. Trim lightly after each flush of flowers to keep the dome tight and encourage the next round. Avoid cutting back hard into bare wood, because hebes are reluctant to reshoot from it.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown as tubestock. Tubes are young plants and the value choice for a border or a whole bed: cheaper per plant, quick to establish, and about a season behind a larger pot in size. Expect to wait two growing seasons for the border to close.

Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse plants suited to coastal gardens
• Compare low maintenance shrubs
• See more plants for small gardens
• Choosing edging plants for a garden bed

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a border?

0.5m apart. The domes meet at that spacing and the line reads as continuous, while each plant still gets the airflow it needs.

Will it grow in Brisbane?

It is not the right choice there. Humid subtropical summers encourage downy mildew on hebes, so gardeners north of the warm temperate zone should pick a different small shrub.

Does it need clipping?

Only a light trim after flowering. The habit is naturally tidy, and hard pruning into old bare wood usually leaves a gap that does not fill in.

Can I grow it in a pot?

Yes. Use a pot 300mm or wider with free draining mix, water more often than in the ground, and refresh the top of the mix each spring.