Named for Hebe, the beautiful Greek Goddess of youth and ‘cup bearer’ of nectar to the Gods, this sweet little plant delivers the same to our honey bees from its pretty bright blue purple flowers. They appear throughout summer and Autumn above gently spreading mounds of mid green lance shaped foliage. Pruning the finished blooms will encourage a second flush.
‘Blue Gem’ is often used as a low flowering hedge, it is quite dense in its growth habit so creates a lovely evergreen, medium height screen of up to 120cm x 120cm wide. If you live in a coastal area this is a good choice for a hedging plant as it will tolerate salt laden winds.
This easy to grow plant is at home in a container, for informal planting in beds and borders, on slopes and banks or even a striking and colourful specimen. The perfect size too for the back of a small sheltered cottage border. Creating year-round interest with its long flowering period and evergreen leaves it truly is a useful and versatile addition to any garden.
Suitable for positions in full or partial sun, it copes well with most conditions although prefers a well drained site in the garden. Improving heavy soils with some grit or sharp sand will help this Hebe to thrive, very wet areas are not the place to plant this delightful, sweetly scented gem.
If planting in an inland position it is best to plant ‘Blue Gem’ hedges in a sheltered spot and provide a little protection in the very coldest weather. The tender young growth of Blue Gem Hebes can be prone to frost damage, although any brown leaves will soon be replaced with fresh new leaves in the Spring.
Our Blue Gem Hebe hedging is pot grown and come to you straight from our nursery in Kent. We recommend a planting distance of 3 to 5 per metre for Hebe x franciscana ‘Blue Gem’, 3 for the more patient gardener who is happy to allow the plants to fill the space in time and 5 for those who want a more instant effect.
This plant needs very little maintenance, just a gentle prune after flowering is all that is necessary.
To give your ‘Blue Gem’ hedging the best start we recommend Bonemeal fertiliser and Rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi. On our How to plant a hedge page you will find comprehensive instructions on how to prepare a site and plant. We also send you a colour printed copy of this with your plant delivery.
If you need any further information about our Hebe x franciscana ‘Blue Gem’ please ring our experienced hedging sales team on 01580 765600 or send us a message through our contact page.
Delivery leadtimes update- March/April 2024
We are working at maximum capacity to fulfil all orders as quickly as possible but owing to unprecedented demand some orders will take longer:
– Orders containing only bare root plants – delivery is currently within 5-7 days
– All other orders – delivery is currently within 2-3 weeks
Delivery is free for most orders above our free delivery thresholds, these are displayed above our prices in the product listings and summarized below. If you don’t need that many plants it’s not a problem, you can choose to pay our delivery charge and only order what you need.
Delivery is convenient – no signature is required so you don’t need to wait in, we will leave your parcel in the safe place that you nominate.
Delivery is fast – because we pick orders daily from our own growing beds your plants only travel the small hop to our packing shed before being sent to you, they are usually delivered within 3-7 days.
Delivery is reliable – we have been selling and delivering Hedging Plants to our customers nationwide since 1992. We have a lot of experience in packing them safely and only use tried and tested delivery partners.
Smaller Plants (Parcel Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £90 | £15.00 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £90 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £24.00 |
Heavy Plants (Pallet Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £420 | £72.00 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £420 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £72.00 |
Tall Plants 2.5m+ (Specialist Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Under £1800 | Please call us |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £1800 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | Not available |
Exceptions to our delivery charges are Scottish Highland and Isle of Wight delivery areas where we need to charge a little extra to cover the cost of deliveries to these outlying areas. We don’t currently delivery to other offshore addresses including Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.
Tall plants over 2.5 metres have to be delivered by our own specialised transport, our delivery area is limited to mainland England and Wales only.
Please note there is a minimum order value of £50 for orders containing smaller plants and £250 for orders containing heavier plants
Complete delivery information can be viewed on our Delivery Information page
