Veronica 'Perfectly Picasso'

Veronica 'Perfectly Picasso': A Soft Pink Haze of Spikes

'Perfectly Picasso' paints pink spikes with white tips, as if it got halfway through the canvas and declared it finished. Two-tone, long blooming and wildly confident. MODERN ART YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Veronica hybrid
• Common Name: Spike Speedwell
• Height: 56–66 cm (22–26 in)
• Spread: 56–61 cm (22–24 in)
• Flowers: Medium pink, opening from white buds at the spike tips for a two-tone look
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to late summer (July to August)
• Foliage: Medium green, in a rounded clump
• Features: Long blooming, salt tolerant, good cut flower

Where to Plant: At about knee height, it fits the middle of a sunny border rather than the very front. Plant it in groups for a soft pink haze, use it in a large container, or grow it in a cut-flower bed. It's salt tolerant, so it copes with beds near salted walks.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Perfectly Picasso' in a sunny or part-shade bed with a white peony, white daisies and cranberry daylilies. Paeonia 'Festiva Maxima' opens fragrant white double peonies at 85 cm in May and June. Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me' adds cranberry-red daylilies at 45 cm from July to September. Leucanthemum 'Becky' brings big white daisies at 90 to 100 cm from June to August. Miscanthus 'Morning Light' stands behind at 120 to 150 cm with fine, silver-edged blades.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in average to fertile, well-drained soil. Add compost to very heavy or very light soil. Water regularly in the first season and during dry spells. Deadhead spent spikes to keep new ones coming. If the clump looks tired after flowering, shear it back. Cut it back in late fall or early spring. Divide in spring every few years if the clump gets crowded.

History: 'Perfectly Picasso' was bred by Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, from a 2012 cross between an unreleased Walters seedling and the classic Veronica 'Red Fox'. It belongs to the Artist Series alongside 'Royal Rembrandt', 'Very Van Gogh' and 'Da Vinci Delight'.

Final Thoughts: Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies are all collectors. Deer and road salt don't faze it. START YOUR COLLECTION TODAY.