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Large clusters of lightly fragrant lavender-blue flowers are produced in early spring and are held well above the deep dark green foliage. Blue Moon Phlox was selected for its clusters of large full flowers and vigor. This is an excellent choice for lightly shaded gardens or as a groundcover under deciduous trees. Provide shade during the hottest portion of the day in hot summer climates and well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Easy and reliable once established. The flowers provide early spring nectar to butterflies and other pollinators. Blue Moon Phlox along with the straight species Phlox divaricata tied for the Top Performer in Mt. Cuba Center Phlox for Shade trials. Item# 11217

2022 Missouri Botanic Garden Plants of Merit selection! One of the most amazingly blue colored flowers in the plant world! This small growing but vigorous annual or tender perennial vine produces loads of brilliant deep blue flowers with recurving and overlapping petals with a white to creamy yellow throat. It can be successfully overwintered but it's easier just to save a few seeds to plant in spring. Caterpillar host: Longtail Skipper. Item# 9114

Blue dye can be extracted from the blossoms!!

Light blue to blue-purple 1/4" wide nectar-rich flowers adorn the tall narrow indeterminate flower spikes from spring to frost to year round under warm tropical conditions. Native to Florida and much of the tropical Americas, Blue Porterweed, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, has smoother lighter green foliage and generally grows wider than tall whereas the other Blue Porterweed, Stachytarpheta cayennensis or S. urticifolia, has more rugose or quilted deeper green glossier foliage with a typically upright habit. Porterweeds are excellent pollinator plants where they attract a continuous menagerie of aerial acrobats from spring until frost. This a heat and sunloving tropical to tender perennial that can be added to gardens and landscapes or plant them in containers to draw the pollinators in for upclose viewing. Blue Porterweed is also a caterpillar host plant for the Tropical Buckeye butterfly. Item# 12046

Blue, indigo, to purple 1/4" wide flowers adorn the long spike-like flowering stems from spring to frost and are held above the rich green glossy foliage. Blue Porterweed, Stachytarpheta cayennensis, is an intermediate growing Porterweed and has a fairly dense upright to spreading habit. An excellent choice for butterfly gardens or as a container plant. Also known as Blue Snakeweed, Verbena Azul, Cayenne Snakeweed. For the Florida native Blue Porterweed see Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile soil. Item# 13080

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.

Pale blue frilly 1 to 1-1/2" wide daisies with a nicely contrasting yellow center are produced beginning in late spring and through summer often continuing into fall atop a neat mound of deep green foliage. The Blue Star Japanese Aster is a tidy under-used clump-forming perennial selected for its exceptionally long flowering season that is sure to add delightful color to the garden and landscape but it also makes easy and exceptionally long-flower container specimens. The flowers are sure to attract a multitude of pollinators. Provide a full to mostly sunny site with a well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Heat, sun, and humidity tolerant. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 11682

Deep purplish blue Iris-like flowers are produced on 2' high spikes are held above the upright to arching dark-green, textured sword shaped foliage. Blue Stars often begins flowering in spring and continues into summer. The overall appearance of this hardy rhizomatous African native is like an overgrown Blue-Eyed Grass. Blue Stars is a naturally evergreen clump forming perennial but the foliage my die back at temperatures below 20oF. Provide good drainage in an average moist rich soil with shade during the hottest portions of the day in hot summer climates. Makes an easy container plant where not hardy. Item# 11019

Masses of 1" wide blue to violet 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 conditions in full sun to mostly sunny sites for optimum vigor and flowering, although it is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions. It is considered to be tolerant of part shade to light shade, but plants may require staking. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. 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

Deep dark red wavy petals surround and often intermingle with the boss of brightly contrasting golden yellow stamens. Bob Hope Camellia produces large to very large flowers in mid to late season (March and April in our gardens) on a moderately vigorous upright to rounded evergreen shrub. Another beautiful introduction from Nuccio's Nurseries. Item# 11339

Spikes of 1/2" long, tubular, two-lipped, deep azure blue flowers have a contrasting bright white bee-guide and throat are produced in late spring or early summer and continue into fall atop the tall wispy stems. The nectar rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Bog Sage, Salvia uliginosa, is a rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial producing a multitude of tall thin wiry stems that can reach 5-6' high in rich fertile moist soils but tends to remain shorter, 3-4' high or so, under average moist garden conditions, which it can tolerate quite well, despite its name, once fully established. it tends to be more restrained under drier conditions as well. Its long flowering season and ease of care have garnered Bog Sage the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It can tolerate full sun in the cooler portions of its range but may be at its best where it receives a little midday shade in areas with hot summer climates. Item# 12906

The large, lightly fragrant flowers are composed of rusty red to near burgundy falls, standards, and style arms and are accented by large starkly contrasting mustard yellow signals. Boiled Crawfish Louisiana Iris is a compact, midseason flowering perennial growing to about 26-28" high. Louisiana Irises are easy and adaptable, rhizomatous perennials with fans of deep green sword-like foliage and seem as at home in standing water as they do in average moist garden soils. Remember that these plants do most of their growing in fall and winter and so this is when they should be fed and fall is also a great time to divide plants if desired. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. A relatively new introduction, Boiled Crawfish was awarded an Honorable Mention in 2022. Item# 13428

Deep reddish pink 3" blossoms adorn this beautiful evergreen shrub in mid-late fall. The fallen petals create a beautiful blanket beneath the dark green glossy foliage. An easily grown and hardy shrub with deep dark green glossy foliage with a medium sized evergreen spreading to upright habit that lends itself to shearing and shaping. Item# 9479.

Clusters of upward facing, soft lavender pink, nicely fragrant flowers are produced in loose clusters on 12-16" high stems in mid to late spring attracting mainly butterflies. Bonnie's Pink Prairie Phlox, a selection of Phlox pilosa and appears to match the description of ssp. ozarkana, is an evergreen to semi-evergreen, rhizomatous, native perennial adorned in narrow medium to dark green foliage. It makes a vigorous ground-cover once well-established and can be allowed to wend in and around larger shrubs and perennials. Provide an average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil in a sunny garden or landscape. Item# 3062

Spikes of 1" long and nearly 1" wide, deep purplish red, two-lipped, tubular flowers are produced from spring to fall and attract a variety of pollinators including hummingbirds, medium to large butterflies, and larger bees. Boysenberry Jam Salvia, a Salvia x jamensis hybrid or Jame Sage, is adorned with large, rounded, fragrant, rich green foliage that immediately sets this Salvia apart from most similar cultivars and acts as a nice backdrop for the dark colored flowers. This cultivar appears to be brand new to horticulture in 2025 but we expect it to have a similar habit and hardiness as most other Jame Sages growing to about 18-24" high and 12-18" wide. Provide a well-draining, average moist, fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12475

For several weeks in mid to late spring, the mounds of large, apple-green, heart-shaped, quilted foliage with maroon veining is topped by a multitude of conical spike-like clusters, or racemes, that are adorned in fragrant dainty white flowers that attract a variety of smaller pollinators. In fall and winter, its foliage deepens into bronze tones. Brandywine Foam Flower or Tiarella, a selection of our native Tiarella cordifolia, is a stoloniferous, ^†semi-evergreen, perennial groundcover perfectly suited to shaded gardens and landscapes. They can tolerate more sun in areas with cool summer climates but will still likely prefer to be in the shade during the heat of the day. Tiarellas prefer a moist soil with ample organic matter and average or better drainage and are resistant to be being browsed by deer and rabbits. Dr. Allen Armitage in his Herbaceous Perennial Plants, 4th Edition states that he "puts these plants on the A list for shady areas." Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13272