Name: The Plant Company
Address: 284 Meeanee Road, Meeanee, Napier, 4112, New Zealand
Telephone: 0800 843 752
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hebe plant varieties

If you’re searching for hebe plant varieties to enhance your New Zealand garden, you’re in the right place. Hebes are celebrated for their dazzling foliage, vibrant flowers, and incredible versatility. Adaptable and hardy, they thrive in a wide range of conditions, making them a superb choice for both novice and expert gardeners. With dozens of beautiful hebe types available, you’ll find the perfect shrub to complement your landscape, border, or container. Read below to discover some of the most popular hebe plant varieties, their unique features, and expert planting tips.

Hebe 'First Light'

Hebe 'First Light' is a compact evergreen shrub valued for its colourful variegated foliage and vibrant flower spikes. The combination of green, cream, and pink tones creates year round interest in New Zealand gardens. Flowering through summer, it adds further colour and appeal. Hebe 'First Light' is ideal for borders, containers, and low maintenance landscapes.

Buy Hebe 'First Light'

From $22.01

Suited to regions: All regions

Plant type: Shrubs

Height: 50 cm

Spread: 90 cm

Flowering time: Spring, Summer

Tolerances: Coastal, Hardy, Wind

Garden uses: Borders, Containers, Living areas, Paths & Steps, Pool areas

Garden styles: Alpine, Backyard, City & Courtyard, Coastal, Frontyard, Modern, Native, Rock

Hebe Bel Air

Hebe Bel Air is a NZ native shrub that features impressive, lilac-pink flower spikes through summer. These are borne above the lush and glossy, green foliage, which together produce an outstanding plant as it grows to 75 cm tall and the same wide. Hebe Bel Air looks most effective when planted in clusters and is commonly included in a mixed planting, used in borders, planted around outdoor living areas, maintained in a container, or added to a cottage garden. It is also well suited to being mass planted on a bank or the like.

Buy Hebe Bel Air

From $22.01

Suited to regions: All regions

Plant type: Shrubs

Height: 75 cm

Spread: 75 cm

Flowering time: Summer

Tolerances: Coastal, Hardy

Garden uses: Banks, Borders, Containers, Living areas, Paths & Steps, Ponds, Pool areas

Garden styles: Alpine, Architectural, Backyard, City & Courtyard, Coastal, Frontyard, Japanese, Modern, Native, Rock

What Makes Hebe Plant Varieties Unique?

Hebes are native to New Zealand, prized worldwide for their low-maintenance appeal and generous flowering season. These evergreen shrubs range from compact, ground-cover types to upright, architectural forms. They offer foliage colours from deep green to silvery-grey and blossoms in shades of white, pink, purple, and blue. Hebe plant varieties are also a magnet for pollinators, attracting bees and butterflies throughout the seasons.

Featured Hebe Plant Varieties

Hebe Black Satin

A stand-out among hebe plant varieties, Hebe Black Satin brings striking dark purple foliage to your garden year-round. Its glossy leaves contrast beautifully with delicate mauve blooms, making it a favourite for adding drama and texture to borders and pots.

Hebe Catherine

If you’re after compact hebe plant varieties, Hebe Catherine fits the bill. This tidy shrub is ideal for edging paths or planting en masse. Bright purple flower spikes and dense green foliage deliver vibrant colour from late spring to early autumn, blending perfectly into mixed plantings.

Hebe Orphan Annie

For gardeners seeking reliable, flower-rich options, Hebe Orphan Annie is a top pick. Its plentiful white flowers and neat, bushy habit make it perfect for hedging or rock gardens. As one of the resilient hebe plant varieties, it tolerates exposed sites and poor soils with ease.

Hebe Waireka

When you want foliage with flair, Hebe Waireka offers a unique silvery sheen that lifts any garden design. Compact and decorative, it’s superb for edging or as a feature plant in smaller spaces. Its subtle lavender flower spikes attract pollinators and add movement.

Hebe Red Edge

One of the most beloved hebe plant varieties for colour and contrast is Hebe Red Edge (Hebe albicans Red Edge). Blue-grey leaves are tipped with vivid crimson, creating year-round interest. Pinkish flowers appear in late spring, making it a striking option for contemporary garden layouts.

How to Grow Hebe Plant Varieties

Hebes generally thrive in well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade. They’re durable enough for coastal gardens and exposed sites, making them ideal for New Zealand conditions. Prune lightly after flowering to maintain shape and encourage new growth. These shrubs work beautifully in borders, pots, and even as mini hedges—choose a variety to suit your style and microclimate.

Discover Your Perfect Hebe

With so many hebe plant varieties to choose from, there’s a shrub for every garden and every gardener. Explore favourites like Hebe Black Satin, Hebe Catherine, Hebe Orphan Annie, Hebe Waireka, and Hebe Red Edge (Hebe albicans Red Edge) to add lasting beauty, texture, and colour to your outdoor spaces. Hebe plant varieties are the secret to effortless, stunning gardens in New Zealand.

Contact us

Whether you need assistance finding the plant you’re looking for or you simply want to know more about who we are and what we do, we invite you to get in touch with us today. A member of The Plant Company team will get back in touch as soon as possible.

hebe plant varieties

Hebe 'First Light'

Hebe Bel Air

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What Makes Hebe Plant Varieties Unique?