Sunshine Blue Caryopteris (Caryopteris incana ‘Jason’), aka Bluebeard or Blue Mist Shrub, started blooming around the first week of September this year. I love this little shrub, it’s so nice to have something come into full fresh bloom when most of the other plants are tired and fading this time of year. This shrub gets about 3 and a half feet tall and about 3 feet wide, with bright golden to chartreuse foliage all summer, and is covered with medium blue flowers in late summer. It blooms on new wood and can be pruned in early spring to keep it more compact, and is hardy from Zones 5-9. (Click on the photos to enlarge.)
-
-
Sunshine Blue Caryopteris
-
-
Bumble Bee on caryopteris flowers
-
-
Bees love these flowers
-
-
Sunshine Blue Caryopteris in the slope bed.
I’ll definitely need to prune next spring.
-
-
My gosh, you can’t beat that color!!! I’ve heard about them for years. I finally broke down and bought a few C. divericata ‘Snow Fairy’, a variegated totally perennial form. Up here they might grow 2-3′.
Hi Jim,
That color is gorgeous isn’t it?
When did your ‘Snow Fairy’ shrubs bloom? I love those too, have two of them that I bought about 3 years ago. They bloomed way back in mid-summer, much earlier than this Sunshine Blue.
Such an unusual shape besides the stunning color. It looks tropical… really very pretty. You still must be getting some good sunshine!
Christine, they are such a pretty color. Yes we are getting plenty of sunshine. More than enough, actually. We are -so- dry!