Hebes!
by Melanie Kinsey

Most people know Hebes as those tough uncomplaining evergreen bushes that every council or developer plonks in car parks and other public areas. Some people still refer to them as Veronicas which is amazing seeing as the name changed 75 years ago! Hebes are from The Land of the Long White Cloud (New Zealand) and are best known for the large leaved species and cultivars with white, blue or bright purple flowers. A lot of work has been done to improve the humble Hebe and we now have flowers in shades of pink as well as leaves in many different sizes, shapes and colours.

Look out for the range of 'Wiri' hybrids bred in Auckland by Jack Hobbs. I particularly like Hebe 'Wiri Joy' with its rose pink flowers in spring. Hebes flower mainly in late spring and on into summer for some varieties, but at the moment Hebe 'Wiri Vision' in a bright magenta/purple looks stunning in an otherwise drab winter garden. Most of these large-leaved Hebes grow to about 1m high and require very little maintenance. You can cut them back after flowering with hedge shears and this will increase bushiness and result in more flowers next season.

Some other interesting Hebes too look out for include the Heliohebes which have only recently been put into a genus of their own. Heliohebe hulkeana is known as the New Zealand Lilac for its enormous sprays of lavender to white flowers which smother the bush in spring. A sport from this and another unknown Hebe is Hebe 'Hagley Park' with beautifully toothed small leaves and large sprays of rosy mauve flowers.

Apart from the large-leaved cultivars, there are a number of smaller growing varieties beloved of English rock gardening folk. 'Whipcord' Hebes (the leaves are so small and pressed so close to the stem that they look like plaited whipcords) are often mistaken for miniature conifers! The best known is Hebe cupressoides which can get to 1m X 1m. Its sport 'Boughton Dome' is much smaller and starts life with gorgeous feathery grey foliage which turns green and more whipcord-like as it matures. Other whipcords to look out for include H. ashtonii, H. tetragona and H. salicornoides which only gets to about 20cm high and layers itself from lax branchlets so becoming a slow spreading groundcover.

Hebe 'Red Edge' has a greyish leaf with, as the name suggests, a red edge making it quite attractive all year round even without the benefit of the pale violet-blue flowers. Hebe 'Emerald Green' is a semi-whipcord Hebe and has not been known to flower. Its gorgeous green leaves are on a compact small shrub which only grows to about 20cm tall by 30cm wide. Hebe parviflora has quite a few forms and some can grow up to 7m tall with distinct trunks. The leaves of this Hebe are long and thin and almost willow-like. The Willow-Leaved Hebe however is Hebe salicifolia which can reach 2m with pale lilac flowers that fade to white. This Hebe was known to the Maori as Koromiko and its leaves were used as a cure for dysentery for New Zealand soldiers in the Second World War.

Illustrations from top to bottom:
Hebe 'Wiri Joy'
Hebe salicornoides
Hebe ashtonii
Hebe salicifolia

If you are interested in learning more about Hebes, there are two monographs to look out for.
"Hebes and Parahebes" by Douglas Chalk, Caxton Press, 1988
"Hebes Here and There" by Graham Hutchins, Hutchins and Davies, 1997
For serious aficionados look out for the newly released
"International Register of Hebe Cultivars" by Lawrie Metcalf, Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, 2001
Visit the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture's website at www.rnzih.org.nz and type Hebe in the search area.