Hebe Marilyn Monroe

What better way to bring a touch of glamour to your garden than with the Hebe 'Marilyn Monroe'®? This hybrid variety of Speedwell shrub offers evergreen foliage in olive green, finely edged with silvery white. The young shoots have a charming deep purple hue. In early summer, a magenta pink flowering completes the picture. This refined and elegant small bush is relatively hardy and easy to grow in regions where winters are not too severe. This variety naturally forms a beautiful evergreen cushion, compact and dense, ornamental all year round. The plant is disease-resistant, undemanding about soil type, and drought resistant once well established in the garden. It is also an excellent plant for the terrace.

Hebe 'Marilyn Monroe'® is a recent hybrid cultivar. It belongs to the family of Plantaginaceae and is related to perennial veronicas. It forms a small regular bush with a compact and rounded habit, reaching about 80 cm (1 ft) in all directions. Its reddish stems, which lignify with age, bear thin, long, thick, and leathery elliptical leaves. They display a centre in olive green, finely edged with greyish white; in the cold, they take on a darker shade. The young shoots are purple. Flowering mainly occurs in May-June, sometimes with a second bloom in autumn. It takes the form of simple lateral inflorescences resembling thin and long spikes of 5 cm (2 in). They are composed of a multitude of small flowers: the floral buds, slightly tinged with white, reveal upon blooming the intensity of their magenta pink colour. Pruning after flowering is recommended to maintain a compact habit and a neat appearance to this Shrubby Veronica.

With relatively slow growth and hardiness (down to -15°C for 'Marilyn Monroe'), Hebes are generally placed alongside perennial plants since their use is closer to these than to shrubs. The 'Marilyn Monroe' variety, on the other hand, naturally develops a compact and dense growth habit well suited for ornamenting terraces and balconies, mixed with e.g. heathers or creeping rosemary. In favourable climates it can create neat and elegant borders throughout summer and be highly decorative in winter. In colder regions, Hebes can be grown in large pots on the terrace and stored in a bright, unheated space during winter.