Veronicastrum virginicum

f caeruleum

PHYSIC ROOT

Veronicastrum virginicum f caeruleum
PHYSIC ROOT

Veronicastrum virginicum f caeruleum is an elegant, showy and admirably tough old favourite.

Showy candelabras of fuzzy blue-violet

Tall candelabras of fuzzy blue-violet bottlebrushes are borne in the shape of trident spears in late summer and autumn. So the flowers add a note of formality at a time of the year when the garden can be topsy-turvy and tossed about by the weather.

Wonderfully hardy & obliging

Veronicastrum virginicum f caeruleum has long been a popular garden favourite.
Firstly of course for it’s elegant good looks.
But also for it’s ease of growing and obliging ability to cope in a wide range of conditions and challenges; care free low maintenance: and long lived hardiness.

Good old Physic Root will always be there for you.
It grows in a dense, neat clump. Becoming denser with even more flower spires each year, without ever spreading or becoming a nuisance.

Loved by bees & florists alike

The flower spires are sweetly rich in nectar, so bees and butterflies cannot resist them.
Likewise florists are besotted by the flower spires to give tall grace to flower arrangements.
Veronicastrums have a growing reputation with florists as the flower spires are borne on long, strong, straight stems, with foliage that is easily cleaned off, on top of their elegant vertical presence.

Bomb proof & rabbit & deer resistant

Physic Root is virtually bomb proof with regard to pets and diseases.
It is rarely if ever troubled by anything or anyone.
And best of all – rabbits and deer find it unpalatable and usually hop off to eat something else.

Reliable beauty in a range of conditions

This reliable beauty shrugs off frost, and will grow quite happily in a wide range of soils – from garden loam to quite heavy clay, from acid to alkaline pH.
While it is perfectly happy on a normal garden watering regime, it can also tolerate quite boggy spots.
And Veronicastrum plants take very little annual care, with a shear back to the ground after final flowering being the only maintenance.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY

Suitable for beginners & gardening with kids

Sow any time indoors in punnets / or scatter directly in garden in winter or autumn.
INDOORS: Sow the seeds on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.
Now gently pat the seeds to the surface to ensure good contact with the mix.
But do not cover with mix because these seeds need light to germinate.

First soak the sown punnet in a water bath, so the moisture percolates right through from the bottom to the top.
Then place in a warm, well-lit position (not in direct sunlight) and continue to keep moist.

Temperatures of 18-21C approx. are best for rapid and optimum germination.

Seedlings then emerge in approx. 14-28 days.

SEED COUNT: 400 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the stated seed count, and give a generous serve).

GROWING: Veronicastrum virginicum f caeruleum

– Height with flowers: 100cm. approx.
– Width: 70cm. approx.
– Position: Full Sun to Partial Shade
– Soil: Tolerates a range of soil conditions, from average garden loam to quite heavy clay; acid or alkaline pH. It can also cope in waterlogged and boggy soils.

Reliable and beneficial for wildlife

– Fragrance: No scent, but it’s striking upright autumn flowers make up for that. In a time of the year when other flowers are flagging.
– Frost: Veronicastrum virginicum is extremely frost hardy. As it can tolerate even hard frosts to below -20C.
– Growth: Herbaceous Perennial. So it will be tall over spring, summer and autumn and then die back in the winter. But do not fear – it is a tough performer and will be back next spring with the clump bigger and better than ever.
– Beneficial for wildlife: Butterflies and other beneficial pollinators find the nectar rich flowers a real boon at a difficult, hot time of the year.

Easy, low maintenance

– Care: An easy care and low maintenance plant.
However it will benefit from a shear to the socks when flowering has finally finished. Then it will bounce out all fresh next spring.
In addition it will enjoy a fertilise in early spring.
– Deer & Rabbit resistant: Our nibbling enemies usually leave it alone. In fact most pests and diseases leave this hardy perennial alone.
– Origin: Native to the Eastern United States and South-Eastern Canada. Where it grows in woodlands, thickets and open prairie grasslands. So this wide ranging native habitat explains the hardy nature of this easy and obliging plant.

Looks like Speedwell, Grows like Speedwell, but actually isn’t…

The name “Physic root” derives from a pioneer physician of the 18th century – Dr Culver.
He studied and used its bitter roots for purgative treatments. As for its botanical name – the generic name is from “Veronica”, the Latin name for the speedwell plant. Which is combined with “astrum” which means having a resemblance. So the name is telling us it looks like a Veronica (but bigger and better). This species was also formerly known as Leptandra virginica and as Veronica virginica.

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