Ornamental · Plantaginaceae
Spike Speedwell
Veronica spicata
Slender blue spires that bring vertical rhythm to the summer border.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 3–8
2–3 ft · 0.6–0.9 m
Overview
Spike speedwell brings a note of vertical elegance to the sunny border, its slender spires rising in blue, pink, or white through the height of summer. A member of the plantain family, it reads as effortless in a relaxed, pollinator-friendly bed, where visiting bees give the planting a sense of life from June into August. It settles into the coldest gardens with ease, hardy across zones 3 to 8.
The plant keeps to a well-mannered clump, about 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 cm) tall and nearly as wide, a scale that suits the middle of a border or the edge of a path. It asks little of a busy household, and its quiet resistance to deer and rabbits keeps the composition intact. What it wants in return is simply a spot that drains.
Set against sun and free-draining soil, speedwell becomes the kind of plant a garden can lean on. Trim the faded spires and it often answers with a second flush come fall, extending the season's display. Lift and divide it every few years and the planting stays full and composed for the long term.
Care
The short version: give it full sun, moist but sharply drained soil, and steady water that never turns to swamp. Trim the spent spires to keep the display going, and divide the clump every few years to hold its form.
Light
Speedwell earns its place in the brightest part of the garden, flowering best in full sun with 6 or more hours of direct light a day. It accepts light or partial shade, but a dim corner leaves it stretched and thin of bloom, softening the upright line that makes it worth planting.
Water
The look holds up on steady, even moisture, kept clear of both drought and swamp. An established clump rides out a short dry spell, though its shallow roots resent a long one. Keep the soil from staying wet, above all through winter, or root rot undoes the planting from below.
Soil
Give it average to rich loam or silt that holds moisture yet drains cleanly, at a pH between 6.0 and 7.5. Winter drainage is the detail that matters most to the composition, since heavy, wet clay is what quietly claims these plants.
Temperature
Few border perennials are so unbothered by cold, with speedwell hardy down to -40°F (-40°C) and content up to about 86°F (30°C). That resilience is what lets it anchor a planting through winter across zones 3 to 8.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air suits it, so there is no humidity to manage in the scheme. Open air movement is the thing to design for, since still, crowded conditions over wet soil invite trouble at the roots.
Feeding
This is an undemanding plant at the table. A single balanced feed or a spring topdressing of compost carries the display through the season, while overfeeding only brings floppy growth that spoils the line.
Pruning
Trim or shear the spent spires through the season to keep the display fresh, and cut the plant back to its basal rosette after the main flush for a possible fall encore. A final tidy of the old growth in late winter or early spring resets it for the year.
Repotting
As a border perennial, speedwell is divided rather than potted on. Splitting the clump every 3 to 4 years keeps the planting full and shapely, a job worth doing once the center thins or the flowering fades.
Size & spacing
A mature plant stands 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 cm) tall and spreads about 24 to 30 inches (61 to 76 cm), an easy scale to place mid-border or along a path. Set plants near that width apart so each clump reads as full and air moves freely between them.
When to plant
Speedwell moves in step with the garden's calendar. Start seed indoors a few weeks before the last frost, set young plants out once the spring soil has warmed, and let the spires open through the long stretch from June to August.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before last spring frost
- Plant: After last spring frost once soil has warmed
- Harvest: June to August (late spring to mid-summer)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Speedwell rarely disrupts a planting, and when it does, the story is almost always too much water or too little sun. Read the early signs below, and the remedy is usually a change of setting or a light trim.
Wilting, yellowing foliage above soft, darkened roots
When the foliage wilts and yellows and the roots turn soft and dark, the trouble is root rot, brought on by wet, poorly drained soil rather than by thirst. Winter is the season that tests a planting hardest, when cold ground stays sodden around the shallow roots. Lift the crown to check, move the plant to a spot with sharp drainage, and part with any clump that has gone soft and mushy.
Fix:
- Reduce watering and improve drainage
- Move or replant into a sharply drained, raised, or amended site
- Remove and discard severely rotted plants
Thin flowering on floppy, overstretched stems
Few flowers and floppy, stretched stems tell you the plant sits in too much shade, and old spent spires left in place only add to the lull. Move it into full sun for 6 or more hours a day, and shear away the finished spires to draw out a fresh flush that restores the border's rhythm.
Fix:
- Site in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun)
- Deadhead or shear spent spikes to promote rebloom
- Cut back to the basal rosette after the main flush
Toxicity
For a household with pets or children moving through the garden, speedwell is a reassuring choice, since it is not considered toxic. It carries no poison warning from the extension references and stays off the ASPCA toxic plant list, so cats, dogs, and grazing animals can share the space without concern. A large mouthful might bring nothing worse than a brief, mild stomach upset, as with most any plant.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Speedwell keeps good company with cats, holding no toxic compounds on record. Should one nibble a leaf, the most that follows is a brief, mild stomach upset, the ordinary result of eating any plant in quantity.
Dogs None
A dog can move freely through a garden of speedwell, which carries no toxicity warning and stays off the ASPCA list. A curious chew asks for nothing more than a watchful eye.
Horses Safe
Horses come to no harm around speedwell, as the plant holds no known toxins and grazing on it does nothing untoward.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits tend to overlook speedwell in the border, and a stray bite poses them no danger.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can graze near a speedwell planting in safety, since none of its parts are toxic to them.
Birds Safe
Birds share the garden with speedwell in complete safety, often working the spires for a meal of nectar and pollen.
People Safe
Speedwell is safe to handle and to have around children in the garden. It is not a food plant, so no part is meant for eating, though a nibbled leaf brings no more than a possible mild stomach upset.
No special handling precautions; generally considered safe around pets and people.
Varieties
Spike speedwell arrives in a small cast of named cultivars, set apart mostly by flower color and habit, each offering a slightly different accent for a scheme. These are the ones most often found.
Icicle
Icicle offers clean white spires that lift and brighten the front of a border.
Rosea
Rosea trades the usual blue for a softer scheme of pink spires.
Royal Candles (Glory)
Royal Candles, also sold as Glory, keeps a compact, tidy shape crowned with deep violet-blue spires.
Red Fox (Rotfuchs)
Red Fox, or Rotfuchs, adds a warmer accent with rosy-red to deep pink spires.
How to propagate
Filling out a border with more speedwell is an easy pleasure, whether you divide an established clump, raise it from seed, or root a few summer cuttings.
DivisionEasy
Early spring as shoots emerge, or early fall · One growing season
Division is the simplest way to carry speedwell into more of the garden. In early spring as the shoots break ground, or in early fall, lift the whole clump, ease it apart into pieces, and replant them where they are wanted. Each division settles in over a single growing season.
SeedModerate
Indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last frost, or outdoors in early spring · Germinates in about 14 to 21 days; flowers later that season or the next
Seed rewards a little patience. Start it indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost, or sow outdoors in early spring, and rest it on moist mix without covering, since it needs light to germinate. Seedlings appear in 14 to 21 days and come into flower later that season or the next.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late spring to early summer · A few weeks to root
Cuttings offer a third route, taken in late spring or early summer. Remove a 4 to 6 inch tip, strip the lower leaves, and set it in a well-drained mix, where it roots over a few weeks.
Myths
Speedwell is poisonous to cats and dogs.
There is no need for worry in a pet-friendly garden. NC State Extension records no toxicity warning for spike speedwell, and the ASPCA toxic plant list leaves it off, marking it safe to grow around pets. Only a large mouthful of any plant risks a brief, passing stomach upset, and speedwell is no different.
Speedwell wants constantly wet soil to look its best.
It welcomes moisture but resents standing in it. Soggy, poorly drained ground invites root rot, while an established plant takes some drought in stride. The setting to aim for is steady water paired with sharp drainage.