Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Plumbago)

Mature Height: 8-12”

Mature Spread: 18-24”

Hardy To: 7,000’

Water: Low

Exposure: Adaptable

Flower Color: Blue

Flower Season: Mid to Late Summer

Description: Plumbago is late to make an appearance in spring, but its striking blue flowers intermingled with shiny, green ovate leaves that form an attractive spreading mound are worth the wait. Adding color to a withering landscape, it blooms late in the sum- mer as many other flowers are fading away. Its foliage turns scarlet with the coolness of fall, making its electric blue flowers atop crimson foliage a unique spectacle. A native of China and Africa, Plumbago is a very adaptable, hardy perennial with tough, fibrous roots. It is a good choice for poor, stony soils and difficult sites, and it likes the soil moist but not soggy.

Care: Prune out winter-killed stems before new growth emerges. Older plants tend to die out in the center. If this happens, dig out the dead area and fill with fresh soil. Plumbago appreciates a win- ter mulch. During the winter, Plumbago goes completely dormant, often vanishing from sight, and is late to emerge in the spring.

You may want to mark its spot in the garden to avoid accidental damage to the plant.

Fun Fact: Plumbago won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 1993.