Product Description
Veronica 'Jedi Gem' PPAF (25) Bare Root Plants
Common Name: Spike Speedwell
Veronica 'Jedi Gem' is a captivating new cultivar of Spike Speedwell, originating as a striking sport of the popular 'Purple Leia'. This exceptional perennial distinguishes itself with elegant, light pink flower spikes that bring a soft yet vibrant touch to any garden. Taller than it is wide, 'Jedi Gem' offers a strong vertical accent, providing near-continuous color over a long bloom period. A highly desirable feature is its self-cleaning nature, where spent flowers gracefully fall to the ground, eliminating the need for frequent deadheading to maintain a neat appearance. The backdrop of dark green foliage exhibits exceptional mildew resistance, ensuring the plant remains attractive throughout the growing season. Veronica is a beloved garden staple, cherished for its ease of cultivation, extended bloom time, and the striking contrast its spiky flowers provide against more common rounded bloom forms. When in full bloom, 'Jedi Gem' is a magnet for beneficial pollinators, with bees in particular buzzing enthusiastically around its floral display.
- Height: Reaches a commanding height of 28 to 30 inches, providing excellent vertical presence.
- Spread: Forms a relatively compact clump with a spread of 18 to 20 inches, making it suitable for various garden spaces.
- Flowers: Abundant, slender, upright spikes of delicate light pink flowers. Each spike is densely packed with small, individual blooms. The self-cleaning nature means spent flowers drop off, maintaining a clean appearance.
- Foliage: Dense, dark green foliage that forms a healthy, attractive base. The leaves are typically lance-shaped and arranged oppositely on the stems.
- Stems: Sturdy, upright stems support the numerous flower spikes.
- Flower Color: Elegant light pink shades, offering a soft yet vibrant color accent.
- Foliage Color: Deep green, providing a rich contrast to the flowers.
- Bloom Time: Long blooming, extending from midsummer through late summer, ensuring prolonged garden interest.
- Growth Rate: Medium, establishing well within a season.
- Attracts Wings: Highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, making it a valuable addition to pollinator-friendly gardens.
- Critter Resistant: Deer resistant, a beneficial trait for gardens in areas with deer populations.
- Seasonal Interest: Provides extended floral display throughout the summer, with attractive foliage that remains healthy due to mildew resistance.
- Cut Flower: The long-lasting flower spikes make excellent cut flowers for indoor arrangements.
- Drought Tolerant: Once established, it exhibits some drought tolerance, although consistent moisture will encourage better performance.
- Mildew Resistance: Exceptional resistance to powdery mildew, a common issue for some Veronica varieties, ensures healthy and attractive foliage.
Veronica 'Jedi Gem' (PPAF) is a notable addition to the Veronica genus, specifically bred for its attractive light pink flowers, self-cleaning habit, and impressive mildew resistance. Its compact yet tall stature makes it an ideal choice for adding verticality without requiring extensive space. The continuous bloom and ease of care solidify its position as a valuable and reliable garden perennial.
While 'Jedi Gem' is a cultivated sport, its parentage (Veronica 'Purple Leia') traces back to species of Veronica that are widespread across temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia, and North America. Many garden veronicas derive from species native to meadows, open woodlands, and well-drained slopes, which informs their preference for sunny, well-drained conditions.
Landscaping Design Tips
Veronica 'Jedi Gem' is a highly adaptable plant that can be integrated into various garden styles and landscape applications:
- Border Plant: Its upright, spiky form makes it an excellent choice for the front or middle of a perennial border, providing strong vertical accents and continuous summer color.
- Mass Planting: Plant in drifts or large groups to create a stunning display of continuous pink blooms. Its uniform habit makes it ideal for cohesive mass plantings, adding significant visual impact to larger beds.
- Patio and Container Plantings: Its moderate height and relatively compact spread make it an excellent choice for containers and patio pots, bringing its elegant blooms closer to viewing areas.
- Cottage Gardens: The soft pink color and abundance of flowers fit perfectly into the romantic and informal aesthetic of cottage gardens.
- Eclectic Gardens: Its clean lines and vibrant color can serve as a strong element in modern and eclectic garden designs.
- Cut Flower Garden: Its long-lasting flower spikes are superb for fresh cut flower arrangements, adding elegant vertical lines and soft pink hues to bouquets.
- Pollinator Garden: Include it in pollinator gardens to attract and support bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, enhancing garden biodiversity.
- Contrast Plant: Use its spiky flower form to create textural contrast with plants that have more rounded or daisy-like blooms, such as Shasta Daisies, Coneflowers, or Black-Eyed Susans.
- Salt Tolerant: Its salt tolerance makes it a viable option for landscapes in coastal regions or areas where road salts are used.
Veronica 'Jedi Gem' is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 through 8. This broad range indicates its ability to withstand cold winters and perform well in a variety of temperate climates.
Planting and Cultivation
- Sunlight: Thrives in full sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day), where it will produce the most abundant blooms. While tolerant of partial shade (4-6 hours of direct sun), flowering may be reduced.
- Water Requirements: Has average to consistent water needs. Keep the soil consistently moist, especially during dry periods and while the plant is establishing. Good drainage is essential; avoid soggy conditions.
- Soil Quality: Adapts to a wide range of well-drained soil types, from average to fertile. For optimal performance, especially in very heavy clay or very light sandy soils, amend the soil generously with organic matter to improve drainage, aeration, and fertility.
- Soil Chemistry: Tolerant of a wide range of soil pH, performing well in acidic, neutral, and alkaline soils.
- Planting: When planting bare roots, ensure the crown is at soil level. Plant in well-drained soil, spacing plants 18-20 inches apart to allow for mature spread and good air circulation.
- Fertilization: A light application of a balanced, slow-release granular fertilizer in early spring can promote vigorous growth and prolific flowering.
- Maintenance: 'Jedi Gem' is easy to grow and maintain.
- Deadheading: While self-cleaning, deadheading spent flower spikes can encourage the plant to produce additional blooms and extend the overall flowering period.
- Pruning: If the foliage becomes worn or tattered-looking after the main flowering period, shear it back to encourage a flush of fresh, healthy foliage.
- Pests and Diseases: Known for its exceptional mildew resistance, which helps maintain healthy foliage throughout the season. Generally, it is quite resistant to major pests and diseases.
Mature field grown roots shipped bare root.
Other Details
The most important part of the plant is its root system. Healthy roots are the foundation of a healthy, vibrant plant. The type of plug container used is based on the specific needs of the plants. Perennials offered as bare root traditionally perform better when planted as bare root.Planted in a specialized mix, potted plants have well established root systems. Top growth stage will vary depending on the current life cycle and time of year when shipped. In Winter and early Spring dormant plants may be shipped. Dormant plants may be planted right away, even before the last frost date.
Most bare root varieties are field grown for at least one season, though Hemerocallis and Hosta are grown for two seasons. The bulk of the soil is removed during the harvesting process and the tops of most varieties are trimmed back to the crown. They are graded, packed in shredded aspen or sphagnum moss and stored in freezers until ready to be shipped.
See our Container Sizes and Bare Root Perennials pages for more information.
Plant information and care is provided in the Overview section, Plant Genus Page and general information is provided in the Planting Care & Guides. Additional questions can be asked on each Plant page.
Plant Spacing: Using the maximum mature spread or width of a plant to guide spacing, ensures space to grow to full size. To fill an area sooner, plant them closer together. Just remember, future thinning or transplanting may be needed.
Water: Keep a close eye on newly planted perennials, especially throughout the first growing year. Most early plant loss is due to too much or too little water!
