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perennials
sunnyborders

Veronica Question: deformed flowers.

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago

Purchased a Veronica as Veronica spicata 'Rotfuchs' (Red Fox) in 2014 but it is clearly not (see below). It looks like Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue' or a similar cultivar.

The plant is quite healthy but has a few deformed flowers, notably bifid ones (also see below).

The only mention I could find on-line, about deformed flowers in Veronica, was Marie Tulin (GW: May 7, 2010) who said deformed flowers are "not uncommon" in V. 'Sunny Border Blue'. She also noted that other GW members had reported the same.

My question is: has anyone seen such an anomaly in any other spiked veronicas or is it only present (or at least only quite common) in V. 'Sunny Border Blue'?

If so, this parallels the situation with the Veronicastrum cultivars, where only V. 'Fascination' has a (presumably inherited) propensity to fasciation.

Today

Featured Answer
  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I remember those SBBlues the summer I wrote that post. I got rid of them because they were ugly, stumpy and bifurcated.. Not remotely like veronicastrum, which is stately. And last week, remembering same, I bought SBBlue (all perfect peaks). Hope and stupidity springs eternal.


    Comments (8)

    • 10 years ago

      Got some Veronica (longifolia) from a neighbour, NoID regarding cultivar, blue and a different stem-flower ratio, mine have smaller flowers on longer stems, foliage is somewhat silvery hairy, perhaps even a seedling, great for upright stucture in the border.

      planted them last fall, about 5 divisions, all grow well. And I never noticed bifurcated flower spikes. I garden in an allotment, and that type of V has been handed up and down, so nearly every gardener has one, all flowers fine.

      if yours keeps throwing out splitt flowers it is probably in its genes.

      sunnyborders thanked linaria_gw
    • 10 years ago

      I have grown the traditional veronica in the past - "Blue Charm" (or is it Lavender Charm?) and "Icicle"; I've also grown Sunny Border Blue. SSB cannot compare to the elegance and gracefulness of the other two - SSB had stubby flowers like short fat sausage fingers, although I don't recall any bifurcation . SSB has been long shovel-pruned. Never noticed any bifurcation on Blue Charm or Icicle.


      sunnyborders thanked porkchop_z5b_MI
    • 10 years ago

      Hope and stupidity springs eternal.<<<==== lol


      ken

      sunnyborders thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    • 10 years ago

      How fall's Blue Charm?

    • 10 years ago

      ^^ What?

    • 10 years ago

      Sorry, typo. How tall is Blue Charm?

    • 10 years ago

      I don't remember specifics, but IIRC Blue Charm is at least waist-high.

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