I planted two new plants of this shrub in the Spring of 2005/ They bloomed beautifully so I took several cuttings and was happy when I saw the cuttings putting out new leaves.
I should have saved myself the trouble as the two planted in the garden have each produced about ten new seedllings around each plant.
Looks like I will have as many of these as I want with plenty to give away.
And here is the pic of the seedlings growing around it.
That's a spirea?
Scott
Wish I had known before I took the cuttings . LOL
Just to clear up any confusion, I'm thinking ferrymead has Caryopteris x clandonensis, commonly called Blue, or Blue Mist, Spirea.
Hey Tess, It's sold as Bluebeard around here. The 'Dark Knight' cultivar of this Asian plant is particularly popular.
I had two here in Montana and they were beautiful but unfortunatly they were annuals.
Rcn, you had me looking through my plant tag file and yep, you have nailed it.
Good to have the correct name, thanks for that.
Lauren, bluebeard really does describe how it looks. My two are Blue Knight.
Soferdig, do you think it was the same variety or did the cold weather do its worst!
I have been searching for my plant file for the last few days, could not remember where I had put it away. This time, I dug a bit deeper in the drawer and found it hiding away there. Funny thing was, its cover was a different colour to what I thought it was. Lol. I am going to write its name in large letters on the cover so it doesn't get lost again.
Golly! I have never seen a shrub with blue flowers before. There goes the pencil to the wish list again. I gotta have one of them. Don't know if it wil grow here yet or not, but I gonna make it survive. That is really pretty. Would look great with my blue and white Iris. (drool)
I thought the same thing and it was labled zone 5 so I gave it a try and had a wonderful summer. Kind of a late bloomer but very beautiful. Mine was a Bluebeard. The winter killed it last year.
Starlight and Soferdig, Bluebeard is sure a good name for it. Perhaps it would thrive o.k. in a pot and then you could bring it inside in the winter? Could be worth giving it a try as it so beautiful in bloom.
The ones planted here only last a few years before they die, maybe the summer heat? At any rate, if the soil is sweet and fairly loose, they will make copious seedlings that can continue the line. Same thing with the straight Caryopteris species. Around here they are known to be short lived perennials, but I guess in MT they might only be annuals. Great plants for late fall blues and forage for the pollinators.
Caryopteris has been pretty hardy here in zone 7a, and is lovely when it blooms. I was told to prune it back hard at the end of every winter since it flowers on new wood; maybe this would help it survive winter dieback in other zones (?).
Starlight, I have not been able to get the xclandonensis types to thrive in my 7b garden although I know lots of people grow it here. Maybe Pete has the key in sweet soil-I don't do any thing to raise the ph here. A little lime might do the trick. Caryopteris incana- common bluebeard has done well for me from seed this year. It grows more like a perennial than a shrub so far for me.
They grow well in Zone 6. Chug right along with no dieback and always a gazillion seedling volunteers. I've forgotten the cultivar. The seedlings all bloom the same color as Mom.
Scott
Well, I will have to wait and see if my ones are longer living than a few years. I did cut mine back after it had finished flowering and it looked pretty dead over the winter months and I was not sure whether it would come right.
I had meant to take some seeds from it but never got around to it, which was why I took the cuttings, seems like no need for me to do anything but see it flower and let it look after its own propogation.
I didn't cut mine back because I was planning on a large specimen where I planted it. I cried in the spring when it kept on sleeping. It was a pride filled plant. The worse thing is I didn't get a photo of it before it died. Well that solves it I will get a plant and let it grow another year and cut it back. Good ideas
Guess my zone 5 is enough warmer than your zone 4b, Steve, so I have had caryopteris growing happily here ever since I planted one (now have several do to their proclivity to slowly spread) I also planted the variegated type, forget the name, it is pretty but not quite as hardy.
Isn't your ground frozen, how did you did the holes for your new aquisitions. (figured I didn't spell that right) Sorry you had such a long trip home. 23 degrees here this morning.
Dark Knight did well in my garden, but only lived 3-4 years. This fall I planted a couple dwarf Caryopteris Petit Bleu in my front border and they bloomed very lightly this first year. Now I am hoping they will make it through the winter. There is a yellow leaved cultiver that looks very pretty too with the blue flowers.
susan
Donna no frozen ground yet we have had a warm spell and all my plantings are doing well. All of the soil I am working in is heavy with compost so I doubt that it will freeze for another month. Our nights have not gotten that cold yet. We did in October have a couple of 20 somethings but none lately. Actually I was rather enjoying being in the garden this morning. Scattered compost and manure on more of the new site. Take a look.
