Ornamental · Plantaginaceae
Spike Speedwell
Veronica spicata
Give speedwell sun and soil that drains, and it happily sends up blue spikes all summer long.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 3–8
2–3 ft · 0.6–0.9 m
Overview
If speedwell is your first perennial, take heart, because it is one of the most forgiving plants you can grow. From early summer it lifts up slender spires of blue, pink, or white bloom, and it belongs to the plantain family. Set it in a sunny bed and pollinators will find the spikes from June into August. Winter cold barely troubles it, since it is hardy from zones 3 to 8.
The plant forms a neat clump, close to 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 cm) tall and nearly as wide, so it is easy to place. Once it has settled in, it asks very little of you, and deer and rabbits usually wander past without a nibble. The single thing to get right is drainage, because soggy roots are the one mistake it struggles to shrug off.
Give it sunshine and soil that drains and speedwell mostly looks after itself. Snip off the faded spikes and you will often be rewarded with a second flush of bloom in fall. Lift and split the clump every few years and it stays healthy and full for a long time, so there is no need to fuss.
Care
The short version: speedwell wants full sun, soil that stays moist yet drains sharply, and even watering without waterlogging. Trim the finished spikes to keep flowers coming, and divide the clump every few years so it holds its strength.
Light
For its best show of flowers, give speedwell full sun, meaning 6 or more hours of direct light each day. It will put up with a little light or partial shade if that is what you have, though a dim corner leaves it stretching and flowering only thinly, so aim for the brightest spot you can offer.
Water
Aim for steady, even moisture, somewhere between bone dry and swampy. A settled plant will forgive a short dry stretch, but those shallow roots cannot cope with a long drought, so do not let it parch. Just as important, keep the soil from turning soggy, above all through winter, or root rot can creep in.
Soil
Speedwell is happy in average to rich loam or silt that holds a little moisture yet drains freely. A pH anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5 will please it, and if you get only one thing right, make it winter drainage, since cold, heavy, wet clay is the one condition that truly undoes these plants.
Temperature
Cold is no threat here, with speedwell hardy right down to -40°F (-40°C) and content up to around 86°F (30°C). That remarkable toughness is exactly why it sails through winter across zones 3 to 8 with no coddling from you.
Humidity
Everyday outdoor air is all speedwell needs, so there is no humidity level to fuss over. What does help is gentle air movement, because still, crowded air sitting over damp soil is what tempts trouble down at the roots.
Feeding
This is not a greedy plant at all. One balanced feed or a topdressing of compost in spring is plenty to see it through the whole season, and piling on more only leaves you with soft, floppy stems, so a light hand is kinder.
Pruning
Snip or shear the spent spikes as they fade and you encourage fresh bloom through the season. After the main flush, cutting the plant down to its basal rosette can earn you a welcome fall repeat. Then simply tidy the old growth in late winter or early spring, and it is ready to go again.
Repotting
As a border perennial, speedwell is divided rather than moved into a bigger pot. Splitting the clump every 3 to 4 years keeps it strong and full, and it is especially worth doing once the middle starts to thin out or the flowers grow fewer.
Size & spacing
A grown plant stands 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 cm) tall and spreads roughly 24 to 30 inches (61 to 76 cm) across. Give each one about that much elbow room when planting, so the clumps can fill in comfortably and air can drift freely between them.
When to plant
Speedwell keeps easy company with the seasons. Sow seed indoors a little before your last frost, move young plants outside once the spring soil has warmed, and by June through August you will see the flower spikes opening. There is plenty of room for the timing to be approximate, so relax.
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 gives you grief, and when something does look off it almost always comes down to soggy soil or too little sun. Both are easy to put right, usually with a better spot or a quick trim, so do not worry if a plant looks unhappy for a while.
Drooping, yellow leaves over soft, darkened roots
If the leaves droop and yellow while the roots turn soft and dark, the culprit is root rot, and it comes from waterlogged soil rather than thirst. Winter is the hardest season for it, when chilly ground stays wet and the shallow roots sit in the damp. Gently lift the crown for a look, shift the plant somewhere that drains well, and let go of any piece that has gone soft and mushy, since a fresh start beats nursing a lost one.
Fix:
- Reduce watering and improve drainage
- Move or replant into a sharply drained, raised, or amended site
- Remove and discard severely rotted plants
Thin blooming with soft, stretched-out stems
When flowers are few and the stems flop and stretch, speedwell is usually reaching for more light, and leaving the old finished spikes in place tells it to slow down too. The cure is gentle: move it into full sun where it gets 6 or more hours a day, and shear off the spent spikes to invite a fresh flush. Give it a season and it will come back for you.
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
Here is a comfort for anyone with pets or little ones underfoot: speedwell is not considered toxic. The extension references list no poison warning for it, and it is absent from the ASPCA toxic plant list, so cats, dogs, and grazing animals can all share the garden with it. At worst a big mouthful might bring a short, mild tummy upset, the same as most any plant.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cats are in no danger near speedwell, which holds no toxic compounds on record. Should a curious cat chew a leaf, the worst it might feel is a brief, mild stomach upset, no different from any plant eaten in quantity.
Dogs None
Dogs can potter around speedwell freely, since it carries no toxicity warning and stays off the ASPCA list. A stolen mouthful calls for nothing more than a caring, watchful eye.
Horses Safe
Horses have nothing to fear from speedwell. It holds no known toxins, and a graze on it does them no harm at all.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits tend to leave speedwell be in the garden, and even a taste would do them no harm.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can graze around speedwell in comfort, as none of its parts are toxic to them.
Birds Safe
Birds come to no harm from speedwell, and many drop by its blue spikes to sip nectar and gather pollen safely.
People Safe
Speedwell is gentle to handle and to grow around children. It is not a food plant, so no part is meant for eating, yet a nibbled leaf brings nothing worse than a possible mild stomach upset.
No special handling precautions; generally considered safe around pets and people.
Varieties
A few named speedwell cultivars are out there, mostly told apart by flower color and the way they grow. These are the friendly, easy-to-find ones you are most likely to bring home.
Icicle
Icicle carries clean white flowers that brighten the very front of a border.
Rosea
Rosea trades the familiar blue for gentle, soft pink spikes.
Royal Candles (Glory)
Royal Candles, sometimes sold as Glory, stays neat and compact under deep violet-blue spikes.
Red Fox (Rotfuchs)
Red Fox, also called Rotfuchs, catches the eye with rosy-red to deep pink spikes.
How to propagate
Making more speedwell is a happy job, and there is no wrong way to start. Split a clump you already have, sow a pinch of seed, or root a few summer cuttings, and you will soon have plants to spare.
DivisionEasy
Early spring as shoots emerge, or early fall · One growing season
Dividing is the kindest, most dependable way to make more speedwell, and it is hard to get wrong. In early spring as the new shoots poke through, or in early fall, lift the whole clump, tease it into pieces by hand, and tuck each one back into the ground. Every division needs just one growing season to settle in.
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
Growing from seed takes a little more patience, but it is well within reach. Start it indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost, or scatter it outdoors in early spring, and rest the seed on top of moist mix without burying it, since it needs light to wake up. Sprouts appear in 14 to 21 days and go on to bloom either later that year or the next.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late spring to early summer · A few weeks to root
You can also raise new plants from cuttings taken in late spring or early summer. Snip a 4 to 6 inch tip, pull off the lower leaves, and settle it into a well-drained mix, where it will quietly put down roots over a few weeks.
Myths
Speedwell will poison your cats and dogs.
You can breathe easy here. NC State Extension gives spike speedwell no toxicity warning, and it is nowhere on the ASPCA toxic plant list, so it is considered safe around pets. The only catch is that wolfing down a large amount of any plant can bring a brief, passing stomach upset, and speedwell is no different.
Speedwell has to have soaking wet soil to do well.
Speedwell does like moisture, but it truly dislikes standing in it. Wet, poorly drained ground is what invites root rot, while established plants shrug off some drought without complaint. Aim instead for steady water paired with sharp drainage, and you will have given it just what it wants.