Giles Van Hees and Purplicious Speedwell are two outstanding speedwells for the home landscape.

Giles Van Hees Speedwell

Introduced in 2013, Giles Van Hees speedwell is among the best of the dwarf speedwells. It makes a great cut flower. The plant makes a great edging and also does beautifully in containers.

This plant is tolerant of dry soils. It is a suitable choice for pollinator gardens. Giles Van Hees speedwell is suited to zones three through eight.

This does well in full sun to part shade. The very tidy dwarf clump forms a tight mat.

The deer-proof plant is only six inches or so in height with a spread of a foot or so. The deep green foliage forms a mound.

Giles Van Hees speedwell is free flowering and blooms for a very long period from late spring to early fall. The flowers are borne on six inch long spikes. The vivid blooms are vivid pink to rose-pink.

Purpleicious Speedwell

Purpleicious speedwell does well in zones four through eight. It is suited to full sun and part shade. The very healthy plants are hybrids.

The deep green foliage is free of disease and remains attractive all season. This plant was introduced by Darwin Perennials. The well branched perennial has a tight growth habit.

It is 1¼ to two feet in height with a spread of up to a foot. Very free flowering, the plant bears intense purple to dark purple flowers on spikes. These appear from May through August.

Fairytale Speedwell

Introduced by Darwin Perennials, Fairytale speedwell is deer resistant. This does well in zones four through eight in full sun to part shade.

The plant is up to sixteen inches tall with a matching spread. The leaves are a lovely silvery-green. The very long lived plant is very floriferous.

The two-toned blossoms are pale pink to rosy pink. The two tone effect is due to the showy deep pink stamens.

The blossoms open from June through August. These are borne in whorls on fluffy flower spikes.

Royal Candles Speedwell

Royal Candles speedwell is an outstanding, easy to grow, undemanding plant. The dwarf, upright compact clump makes a great ground cover. It is also suitable for rock gardens and containers.

This plant is one to 1½ feet in height with a spread of one to two feet. It does best in zones four through eight. Full sun is preferred.

Royal Candles speedwell has very attractive foliage that remains attractive all season. This long blooming variety bears flowers from early summer through fall.

The flowers are intense blue-violet to bright violet blue or navy blue. These are borne on conical spikes. This variety is just covered with blossoms.

The flower stems are 1 1/4 to 1½ feet in height. One of the speedwells used in breeding this variety was Sunny Border Blue.

These flower stems make a great cut flower. Cut the stems when one-third of the blossoms have begun to open.


Red Fox Speedwell

Red Fox speedwell was introduced in 2013. There is also a Blue Fox speedwell with lavender-blue blossoms.

This variety is a compact, mounded, rounded dwarf clump. It is perfect for containers and at the front of borders.

The shiny deep green leaves are up to two inches long. The plant prefers full sun. It is one to 1¼ feet tall with a spread of 1½ feet.

Flowering begins in May and continues throughout the summer until September. Very free flowering, Red Fox speedwell has tapering flower spikes. The flower stems are red.

The intensely colored blossoms are deep pink to dark rose pink or a bright fuchsia pink.