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| I don't have anything blue in my flower beds.
Any suggestions? I have full sun areas, and shade. Novice @ gardening, desire something easy and low maint. Also, interested in periennals for beds. CAM |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jacqui_ontario z5 Ont (My Page) on Tue, Feb 4, 03 at 19:05
| Hi Cam...you'll get lots of blue suggestions I'm sure, but here is one new to me last summer. Its a tender perennial, but grown here in zone 5 as a pricey annual. Evolvulvus glomeratus..you can easily find a photo on google images or check it out on www.floridata.com - I think in their perennials lists. Greyish foliage with a baby blue flower- bloomed all summer for me in a hot dry spot - and it also rooted easily in a tumbler on the window sill, so I won't have to buy it this spring. Jacqui |
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- Posted by quiltguy154 5-6 (My Page) on Wed, Feb 5, 03 at 18:44
| Yoy can't do better than cornflowers and phacelia. |
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| Lathyrus sativus is a gorgeous vine with truly blue sweetpea type blooms that have a soft pink reverse. |
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| tall blues: Delphinium (annual in the South), Larkspur, Acotinum (this is perennial even in Zone 8), Blue cornflower or bachelor buttons medium height blue and perennial: Batista australis (blue false indigo), some campanulas, Agapanthus (lily of the Nile -maybe it should be mulched in Zone 7 or overwinter it in the garage) bulbs: Muscari or grape hyacint, some of the Anemones (de Caen or St. Brigitte) and many, many more... |
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| I get exasperated because some described as "blue" are really lavender or purple. I love forget-me-nots, iris, and flax for spring bloom, larkspur and delphinium for summer. |
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| Needing some blue also to go with my yellow and whites, I just ordered seed from Parks for their "Blue Chrysanthemum" Heteropappus Blue Knoll, an annual that is truly blue. Hope it looks as good as the picture. |
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| they're probably annuals in your area, but gentian sage is a gorgeous true blue, looks fabulous with the almost fluorescent yellow-orange flowers of tagetes lemonii! |
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| For TRUE blue (not purple, lavender etc.): Evolvulus, Salvia chamaedryoides, forget-me-nots, and Rosemary. |
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| If you don't get frost, cape plumbago -- that cool light blue is stunning on a mature plant/vine! |
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- Posted by Jajohnson2 8 WA (My Page) on Mon, Mar 3, 03 at 17:24
| Some of the perennial geraniums are very blue. There's also lithodora and some corydalis'. |
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- Posted by designingwoman z5 IL (My Page) on Sat, Mar 15, 03 at 3:10
| Ceratostigma plumbaginoides--Leadwort--True blue, new foliage bronze, fall foliage red, late-blooming (August here in the Chicago area. Terrific groundcover plant for sum or partial shade. The only drawback I can think of is that it's late to emerge, so you have to remember where you've planted it when you're doing spring clean-up. (Pest- and disease-free, too. |
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| Blue Flax. Blue Iris. Blue Fescue. |
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| forget me nots. |
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| I don't know how I forgot this one since this is it's blooming season and it's looking beautiful right now: "Johnson's Blue" geranium. |
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| Salvia guarnitica is true blue, tall, blooms spring till frost, pest and disease free but it can spread which is good or bad. There is a lot more foliage than flowers on it but so what. Hummingbirds like it. I think that the first flower mentioned, evolvulus, is also known as Blue Daze. I have had it in a pot and seen it in hanging baskets. Last year I put some in the ground and it did very well..always in bloom, takes heat and drought. |
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- Posted by gardengirl10 Z5 IL (My Page) on Tue, Apr 1, 03 at 22:19
| Blue salvia..farinacea victoria, is a great flower! It blooms all summer long and the hummingbirds, butterflies and bees love it! Love-in-a-mist is another of my favorites! There's also a new "wave" petunia out in blue. |
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- Posted by clutterbugs 7 n ga (sbaybahbay@aol.com) on Fri, Jul 18, 03 at 13:31
| i got 4 blue plumbago (looks pale lavender when picked but blue when with the leaves) they are shrubs and so pretty,all 4 areblooming and i got them on clearance at start of spring for $1 each at lowes...what a deal,they are $11 reg....i love`m.....beth in ga |
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- Posted by MeMyselfAndI 5/6 central OH (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 18:57
| Anchusa and Myosotis (both are varieties of forget-me-not) have blue varieties. Lobelia siphilitica has a common name "giant blue lobelia." These are both perennials here. I'm trying Borage for the first time this year. It is not perennial here, but supposed to reseed itself. Same thing with Nigella. I would recommend buying blue plants in bloom (or growing them from seed) since so many of them are really purple. To see plant pictures, type the common or latin name into a Google image search. You get the most views if you do both common and latin name (separately.) |
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- Posted by maine_gardener Z 5 Me (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 20:28
| If you have some shade they have some really blue hostas that are small to the ex large size that looks nice also.My favorite is one called Blue Angel that gets quite large. |
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| longwood blue shrub |
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| There really is a flower named Lobelia siphilitica? I'd love to know why it copped that one. |
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| Aconitum, Lady Bells, Nepeta, Caryopteris.....these are TRUE light and dark blues... |
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- Posted by littlebug5 z5 MO (My Page) on Wed, Dec 3, 03 at 16:58
| My veronicas Sunny Border Blue were really blue this summer. |
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| Another suggestion if your soil is moist enough and you have room enough to support it is Salvia ulignosa. The blooms are a true sky blue, here's a picture from Hortiplex, if you click on it you can read more about it.
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| Meconopsis betonicifolia - the himalayan blue poppy. What a beauty!! |
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- Posted by sylviatexas z8 Tx (My Page) on Sun, Jan 18, 04 at 19:34
| Salvia Black & Blue Balloon Flower, can't remember the exact name, but it's blue. |
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| suggest the xeric Salvia chamaedryoides,an 18"x24" perennial endemic to Mexico.(flowers:sky blue)Extremely long flowering period with glaucous foliage.Seed production low,however.Turns russet red in late fall persisting through winter for an interesting effect.Cut back to groundlevel in spring... |
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- Posted by SunburyGirl z5 OH (My Page) on Sat, Feb 14, 04 at 6:35
| Walkers Low Catmint. Quickly growing plant to 3x3 wide, but only about a foot and a half high, hardy, drought resistant, blooms constantly from spring to frost, but in the spring it looks like an intense blue salvia on steroids. I've had people stop to ask me what it is, it's so pretty. |
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| There are some great pics of blue clematis in the clematis forum right now. Here is a link! They've got me drooling! Susan |
Here is a link that might be useful: Blue Clematis discussion
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| There is an excellent thread on the FAQ page of the Perennials forum which discusses blue. It is an interesting and informative read about blues and why people collect them. Yeona |
Here is a link that might be useful: Why Blue?
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- Posted by flowersandthings MidAtlantic 6/7 (My Page) on Wed, Jun 30, 04 at 22:45
| Salvia patens is supposed to be the bluest blue..... analagis monelli...... kingfisher daisy felicia...... :) |
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- Posted by Dirtboy58 z5 Denver (paul@kygo.com) on Thu, Jul 1, 04 at 12:39
| Interesting I found a "blue" posting. I just this week accidentally stumbled across a blue secret! While shopping for Colorado natives I saw an incredibly strange plant. It had bees all over the tips and I noticed that the stems that led to it where BLUE! Yes, the STEMS! The further down the plant you went the more the blue turned to the green. There was a sign that read: "more of this plant coming July 2nd...". Yes it's drought tolerant AND a perennial! I'm on the waiting list for this plant! WOW! Paul |
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| What is it? |
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| Stokes Aster 'Peachie's Pick" beautiful blue color and mine are blooming like crazy. |
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| Hi Alison, Sorry I didn't get back to this thread about my new blue plant. It's called "Sea Holly" (Eryngium). Paul |
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| Blue Lobilia is always a nice little accent plant. |
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- Posted by joepyeweed 5b IL (My Page) on Sun, Feb 6, 05 at 23:56
| things that grow in my yard that are blue: jacobs ladder, false indigo(although it hasnt bloomed for me yet), bellflower, spiderwort, and delphiniums. i agree about the blue purple confusion... i think that spiderwort can look bluer or purpler depending upon where it is growing... soil and water conditions effect the color, i guess. |
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- Posted by mysweetie75 tropics (My Page) on Wed, Mar 2, 05 at 12:59
| Here's my favorite blue...
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- Posted by dottie_in_charlotte z7-8 NC (My Page) on Wed, Mar 2, 05 at 14:59
| Sisyrinchium,Lucerne..blue-eyed grass. Blue Lyme Grass(careful..really invasive)a really nice backdrop to pale rose petunias. |
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- Posted by lynne_melb z9b Melb FL (My Page) on Sat, Mar 5, 05 at 1:47
| Morning glory heavenly blue |
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- Posted by catherinehc z5 NcntrlMA (My Page) on Fri, Jun 3, 05 at 8:26
| Pickwick, are you able to grow Salvia chamaedryoides in zone 5? (I find it listed as Z 8 or 10) -- Catherine |
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- Posted by Springcherry 6/7 Philly,PA (My Page) on Mon, Jun 6, 05 at 11:00
| >There really is a flower named Lobelia siphilitica? I'd >love to know why it copped that one. It was once thought to cure it. It dosn't. I would add echium vulgare Springcherry |
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- Posted by LaurelLily 9a Houston, TX (My Page) on Fri, Jul 22, 05 at 9:56
| I'm going through a vine phase, so my blues are backdrops for my garden. For light blue, you can use Heavenly Blue Morning Glories. For a very deep, rich blue, use Butterfly Pea Vines (I'm growing those to grow up over the wall that's behind my tropical bed). |
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| No one has mentioned Liriope aka Lily turf. |
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| Another vote for Victoria Blue Salvia, or Sage-may be listed both ways. Plants grow well and once it starts blooming it stays in bloom until frost. Your're in zone 7 AR-probably not any farther North than I am (Paragould) and it is a perennial here. I had removed some last year to clean up the bed, then left the rest-surprise, surprise-they started to grow in March when the weather began to warm up! Just beware of powdery mildew-the bed I had them in was too wet for it and they all succumbed. Will replant them next year in another bed with better air circulation. A picture to show how pretty they are:
As you can see, the bees love it, too. |
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| Catherine;re zonal interpretations of Salvia chamaedryoides.... my experience with this perennial plant is under zone 5 temperature ratings at an elevation of ~ 4500 feet (desert environment) with extended winter lows in the teens and single digits...Also ,I shared plants with friends further north with harsher winter conditions.I might suggest considering the integration of temperature with the imputs of precipitation and soil pH and drainage.Lots of questions...What we do know, suggested in web-based resources,is that this plant might be considered grown as a container plant beyond what is presently known about its adaptive range....(it is referred to in the Washington Post and also offered in nurseries in the Appalachia region... and then,I suppose, we enter the thresholds of a rather murky,and controversial debate about the promotion of non-endemics.... Anyway,as a container plant,I would probably incorporate dolomitic limestone in your well- drained potting mix and acknowledge a winter resting stage,cut back on your water,lower the temps, ect.... good luck |
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| Sorry-link is obviously broken-reposting blue salvia photo:
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| I love my Virginia Bluebells, really any plant in the borage family will give you blue/gray leaves and usually blue flowers. Rue also has really interesting blue/gray foliage with small green/yellow flowers. Also Bayberries have beautiful blue berries all winter long in z7 and smell amazing and very easy to grow. Can't forget the blue leaved Hostas. |
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| You want blue? here ya go.... Perennials Wolfsbane Aconitum Blue Star Amsonia Aster, several Aster *Astilbe, several Astilbe Belleflower Campanula Aquilegia Columbine Sea Holly Eryngium Gentian Gentiana Johnson's Blue Hardy Geranium Brookside Hardy Geranium Mrs. Kendal Clark Hardy Geranium Bearded Iris, several Iris *Kansas Gayfeather Liatris Flax Linum Blue Lobelia Lobelia Lupines Lupinus Forget-Me-Not Myosotis Russian Sage Perovskia Garden Phlox, several Phlox pan. Woodland Phlox Phlox stol. Emerald Blule Creeping Phlox sub. Balloon Flower Platycodon Jacob's Ladder Polemonium Meadow Sage Salvia Pincushion Flower Scabiosa Blue Eyed Grass Sisyrinchium *Veronica, several Veronica *Violet Viola Bulbs Annuals Herbs Hostas with Blue Foliage In addition to hosta varieties with blue foliage, Bachman's offers over 30 varieties with lavender or purple blooms. Miscellaneous Ornamental Grasses =) |
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- Posted by Jeffrey_harris San Diego, CA (My Page) on Thu, Aug 25, 05 at 17:55
| If you live in areas that go below 40F, you'll have to pull these in (they're native to Brazil), but you don't get much bluer, year around, than Siccobaccatus dolichospermaticus (on the left) and Cipocereus bradei (on the right)
Another suggestion, with the same criteria as above, are almost ony of the Pilosocereus, one of which has a vine growing on it below:
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