Purple Flowers or Flower Parts

The Bird of Paradise produces exotic and unusual, tropical looking orange, blue, and purple bird-like flowers that are perfectly designed to allow Sunbirds to perch on the tips of the blue petals which opens the flower and provides access to their rich nectar. Here in the US we get to enjoy Hummingbirds enjoying their bounty. The large glossy blue green foliage of the Bird of Paradise is arranged in attractive symmetrical fans that provide architectural interest even when the plants are not in flower. The Bird of Paradise is an easily maintained evergreen container specimen or grow it in the ground where hardy. Item# 1214.

Lavender flowers emerge from dense, dark purple to near black bottlebrush-like spikes beginning in summer and continuing until fall. Black Adder Agastache is a vigorous sterile hybrid with fragrant licorice scented foliage and so it continues to flower throughout the growing season. Easy to grow and the flowers attract loads of pollinators especially bees. Item# 10807.

Showy deep violet-purple, fragrant spikes, to 8" long, are held at the ends of the arching, woody stems. Black Knight Butterfly Bush is an exceptionally free-flowering shrub, producing the intensely deep purple, fragrant flowers  from spring until fall. An excellent choice for butterfly gardens as well as providing nectar for a host of other pollinators including hummingbirds. Black Knight, an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner, is still one of the most strikingly colored and popular of all Buddlejas grown today. Item# 322.

The dark purple to deep burgundy foliage nearly black foliage of this sturdy perennial is topped by spikes of sweetly contrasting purple to lilac flowers in mid to late spring. Flowers attract native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Blackbeard Penstemon or Beardtongue is hybrid selection of our native species (Penstemon species are found native only in North America) whose intensely colored foliage is sure to provide wonderful contrast with surrounding perennials in the garden and landscape or use it as a specimen in containers. Provide a full to mostly sunny location for the darkest foliage coloration and a well-drained, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Blackbeard Penstemon was selected not only for its foliage color but also for its compact habit and flower power. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 11904

Blaumeise is considered by many to be one of the best of the Lacecap Hydrangeas producing very large flower clusters that are surrounded by some of the most deeply colored and themselves very large, showy sterile florets. In acidic soils the flowers are a deep royal blue and in alkaline soils the flowers are a dark rosy red. The foliage is large and shiny and is held on stout sturdy stems. The only drawback for this amazing Hydrangea cultivar is that it has limited cold hardiness and is will probably be best grown in zones 8 and warmer. An eastern or partially shaded southern exposure might be optimum even then. Item# 10731.

Sturdy spikes of brilliant blue to lavender-blue, two-lipped flowers are borne for an exceptionally long period in late summer and into fall on this hardy, native, clump-forming perennial. Suitable for consistently moist to wet soils. The Blue Cardinal Flower is enjoyed by hummingbirds, butterflies, and an variety of other pollinators as well as making a beautiful cut flower. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries. Item# 10159.

Large, 3-4", blue, cornflower-like daisies are born in summer on this durable and reliable US native perennial. Stoke's Aster comes highly recommended and its easy to see why with moderate drought resistance, few pest or disease problems, deer and rabbit resistance and it revels in the heat and sun of our southern summers. Plants readily multiply into dense clumps. Super easy and tough. Item# 1212.

The Blue Glory Vine produces 2-1/2" wide purple trumpets with yellow throats that are produced freely from spring to fall. A mounding and upright to spreading perennial to small (3-4'H) rambling climber, it is one of our favorite root hardy perennials for adding purple to a semi-shady area of the garden or in containers and it has excellent flower power. The Blue Glory Vine is happy in light shade to partial sun conditions but seems to prefer midday to afternoon shade in hot summer climates. It makes an easy container plant where not hardy. Item# 327

The large, 3-4'' wide, blue to lavender, Hibiscus-like flowers are produced throughout the warmer months of the year to year-round under warm frost free conditions. The Blue Hibiscus, Alyogyne huegelii, is an upright to rounded, naturally evergreen, Australian native shrub that is heat and sunloving and is somewhat drought resistant once well-established. It is fairly adaptable to soil types and moisture as long as they are provided with excellent drainage, otherwise it tends to be fairly short-lived. Full sun is optimal and it can be enjoyed both as a container plant as well as making a nice specimen or informal hedge in the garden and landscape. It is sometimes trained as a tree standard to good effect. Plants tend to be somewhat open and if foliage becomes too sparse or the plants too larger they can be pruned back fairly hard and will put out vigorous new growth and some sources suggest that it flowers best after a good pruning. Item# 12881

Flat topped clusters of bluish-purple Ageratum-like flowers are born atop sturdy stems in summer and sometimes into fall. Blue Mistflower is a rhizomatous colonizing native perennial that may be best suited to naturalistic settings or among larger growing plants as a tall groundcover. Excellent for pollinators, particularly native bees. Item# 10458

Clusters and chains of large 3" wide purple-blue trumpet shaped flowers with contrasting yellow throats are produced throughout much of the growing season and attract larger bees and butterflies as well as the occassional hummingbird. The Blue Sky Vine, Thunbergia grandiflora, is an exceptionally popular tropical vine that is easy, reliable, has excellent flower power and it can be grown as a die-back perennial in zones 8-9 if established early in the growing season (click the "More Details and Growing Info" link or the plant's image to learn more). It may remain evergreen in warm frost free tropical climates where it can flower nearly yearround. The Blue Sky Vine is a heat and sunloving twining vine suitable for metal fences, smaller arbors, and medium to large trellises or other sturdy supports. Provide a well-drained, moderately fertile soil. The Blue Sky Vine can also be enjoyed as an easy and low-maintenance container plant. Item# 1108.

Masses of 1" wide blue to violet blue daisies with a yellow eye seemingly cover up this perennial in late summer and fall providing nectar for pollinators including bees and migrating Monarchs. Bluebird Smooth Blue Aster, a selection of Symphyotrichum laeve (previously Aster laevis), was the top rated aster in trials at Mt. Cuba Center. It has a naturally upright to vase-shaped, clump-forming habit and grows to 3-4' at flowering but can be pinched in late spring or early summer to produce a fuller more compact plant. The Smooth Blue Aster is found throughout much of the US and into Canada. Provide a well-drained, average to semi-dry soil in full sun conditions for optimum vigor and flowering although it is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions. In semi-shade it may require staking. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12247

The widely flaring deep blue-purple fan shaped flowers open from tubular buds, and are very reminiscent of Scaevola or Half-Flower, open singly and in clusters held at the growing tips as well as in the leaf axils attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The 5-lobed flowers of Blue-Lips, Sclerochiton harveyanus, are produced most heavily throughout the warmer months of the year. This is a shade tolerant naturally spreading to scandent (vine-like) evergreen tropical shrub with rounded, glossy deep green foliage. Blue-Lips is considered to be frost resistant but not freeze tolerant and it is easily maintained as a shrub form for containers, including hanging baskets, in and around larger growing shade-loving tropicals in the garden as well as on a shaded porch or patio. Provide it with an average moist, acidic to neutral, well-drained soil in a site that receives at least some cool morning sunlight or filtered sunlight for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12268

An improved 'Magnus' type purple coneflower with large outward facing pinkish-purple petals and an orange 'cone' and are borne in summer and often last into fall. The flowers are held on sturdy, 2-3' stems. An outstanding selection of our native Purple Coneflower! A superb butterfly nectar plant. Item# 9696.

Unusual fuchsia colored flowers with exerted purple stamens and pistil are produced throughout the year attracting hummingbirds along with occasional butterflies. Brazilian Candles, Pavonia multiflora, is an exceptionally free flowering, naturally evergreen tropical shrub with an upright to vase shaped growth habit and glossy dark green textured foliage. Provide a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. This rare tropical shrub is sure to be a conversation piece! Item # 544

New in 2022 and a breakthrough color! Dense spikes of dark wine purple pea-like flowers that are accented by a contrasting primrose yellow keel are held above the mound of deep green foliage. Flowers are produced in late spring to early summer and attract mainly bees. Burgundy Blast Baptisia or False Indigo, a hybrid cultivar of US native species (a.k.a. nativar), with good vigor and deep green foliage growing to about 3' x 3'. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12893

One of the top ten performers in 2020 Echinacea trials at Mt. Cuba Center! Fragrant! Deep purplish pink rays surround the contrasting dark orange tipped rounded cones of disk flowers on flowers that can reach 4-5" across and sit atop sturdy 24-36" high stems beginning in late spring and continuing into early fall. The ray petals lighten toward their tips as they age. Butterfly™ Purple Emperor Coneflower is a hybrid Coneflower selected for its exceptionally long flowering season that lasts from late spring or early summer often into fall, briliant color, huge flowers, excellent branching habit meaning more flowers, as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12789

Intense dark purple, nectar rich, fragrant flowers are produced in dense spikes held at the ends of the arching branches and contrast nicely with the gray-green foliage on compact plants. Buzz™ Midnight Butterfly Bush or Buddleia was selected for its slightly smaller densely branching compact stature as well as its exceptional flower power. The Buzz series of Butterfly Bushes are small enough to be enjoyed as fragrant patio container plants where they can draw pollinators in close as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 12112

The orange-eyed, nectar rich, fragrant flowers open magenta and darken into purple shades as they age and are produced in dense conical spikes from spring to fall held against a foil of rich gray-green foliage on compact plants. Buzz™ Velvet Butterfly Bush or Buddleia was selected for its slightly smaller densely branching compact stature as well as its exceptional flower power and full-sized flower spikes. The Buzz series of Butterfly Bushes are small enough to be enjoyed as fragrant patio container plants where they can draw pollinators in close as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photo courtesy of Plant Haven International, all rights reserved. Item# 12402

Large rounded to conical clusters of fragrant 1" wide purple flowers with a red-purple eye and with each petal brushed with 2 light strokes of bright contrasting white are produced beginning in summer and can continue into fall. The flowers of Phlox are butterfly pollinated but they may also attract larger bees and hummingbirds. Candy Store™ Grape Lollipop Garden Phlox is a clump forming selection of the native perennial Phlox paniculata with extra dark green disease resistant foliage that adorns the dark colored sturdy stems. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in well-drained, fertile soils for optimum vigor and flowering. Image courtesy of AG3, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12040