Q&A: How Do I Plant Turkish Veronica Between Flagstones?
August 11th, 2025
Tips to help your ground cover thrive!
Turkish veronica (Veronica liwanensis)—as well as CRYSTAL RIVER® veronica (Veronica ‘Reavis’) and SNOWMASS® blue-eyed veronica (Veronica x ‘P018S’)—are ground covers that can look lovely when planted among flagstones. These veronicas are low growing, drought tolerant plants.
In this article, we share how to plant these ground covers in between flagstones. Tip! Your approach will vary depending on whether you’re starting from scratch with a new flagstone patio or walkway, or you’re planting among existing flagstones.
How to plant Turkish veronica in a new flagstone pathway or patio
Space the new flagstones with at least 1.5″-3″ gaps between them. (This can help lower your flagstone material costs because you don’t need as much of it.)
If you are creating a patio, strategically look for areas where three stones come together and/or find spots along the edges where there isn’t a lot of foot traffic. Leave bigger gaps in those spots, creating intentional planting areas.
Get small Turkish veronica plants, remove the soil and bare root plant them (watch video) between the stones. The material around the stones will likely be a crevice garden-type soil mix, which is great for getting the roots of these plants established. Turkish veronica performs best in well-drained soils.
Turkish veronica has a limited tolerance for being stepped on. With that in mind, it’s best to plant Turkish veronica slightly below the top surface of the flagstone. That way, it can happily grow between the flagstones, filling the gaps. For example, you may want to plant it .5″ to 1″ below the top surface of the flagstone.
Fill in with the sandy mix around the plants and flagstones.
When you finally sweep off the stone, your broom shouldn’t sweep out the plants!
How to plant Turkish veronica in an existing flagstone patio or pathway
If you have at least 1.5″ gaps between your flagstones, spot dig out between the stones.
You likely have a combination of top soil, leaf litter and dust mixed into the ground around your stones, so rather than bare rooting planting your Turkish veronica, simply plant the whole plug. Gently loosen the roots and plant the Turkish veronica plugs into the ground.
Similar to the approach with new flagstone areas, plant the top of the plug slightly below the top surface of the flagstone.
Dig out space for the plant to expand between the flagstones.
How to water your new plants to help their roots establish
The good news is Turkish veronica can establish quickly, but your watering routine will vary depending on how warm and dry it is.
Let’s say you’re planting in the late spring or in the early fall when daytime temperatures are moderate. You may want to water daily for the first three to four days. Then, water every other day for a few weeks.
Once established, Turkish veronica tends to be happiest with approximately .4″ of moisture once per week or .8″ every two weeks, but it can vary based on your weather and how much sun the plants receive. (Plants in part shade often need less water.)
