Perennials Forum FAQ
What are some blue flowering perennials?
- Bob - I especially like blue flowers (not purple, true blue). Some of my favorites are Meconopsis betonicifolia, some of the gentians, Anchusa azurea, Veronica austriaca 'Crater Lake Blue', V. armena, some of the blue corydalis, Salvia patens, Aconitum carmichaelii, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides. I'm always on the lookout for good garden perennials with true blue flowers and would welcome any suggestions.
Robin - Aquilegia caerulea (Rocky Mountain Columbine). It grows 12 to 24 inches, light to deep blue, only sometimes bi-colored with white.
Graham - Have you considered the following:- Aster x frikartii 'Monch', Pulmonaria angustifolia 'Azurea', Baptisia australis, Scabiosa caucasica, Platycodon grandiflorus, Campanula persicifolia, Agapanthus, Echinops 'Taplow Blue', Aster sedifolius, Salvia uliginosa, S. guaranitica, Iris pallida.
Janet Z6/OH - My favorite blues are delphinium (belladonna) and many of the campanula. Clematis, of course, comes in many wonderful blues - aconitum, anchusa, centaura montana, eryngium (sea holly), cranesbill (Johnson Blue is a popular one), iris, especially Siberica 'Caesar's, lavendar, perovskia (russian sage), polemonium (jacob's ladder), salivia, saponaria (lovely!), stokesia.
Dominique (Rimouski/Z4a) - Once you have seen well grown blue Meconopsis, it is hard to find bluer flowers, although some Anchusa azurea cultivars come close. Above all, they dislike warmth, and failure appears to be related to heat stress. It seems that anywhere where min. night temp are above 12-13 degrees (52-55F for the Celsius impaired) is outside their acceptable growing requirements. You'll find these conditions in maritime areas or in high mountains (where they are from). I suggest that you plant them near a body of water, which would help to create a cool microclimate. If they survive, they should bloom timidly next year, and be fully mature in 2 years.
Some of the tall bearded irises can be truly blue. All the blue irises I have seen (by opposition to purplish ones) tend to be either pastel or very dark.M
Bluebells are a world in themselves; there are many fine species of blue flowers from dwarfs to giants, but like many of the blue flowered plants, they often have purplish hues in them. Some of my favorites are C. lactiflora (some cultivars are true blue) and C. macrantha.
SallyV MDZ7 - How about Catmint -- I have it with Salvia Victoria. I also planted a Plumbaggo bush this year. It is the brightest blue I have seen (but supposedly not hardy in my zone) I had it with Aster Frikarti 'Monk' and Veronica 'Blue Fox'
Barb Mich Z5 - For a different silhouette, try common chicory, Cichorium intybus. It's all long gangly angles, an interesting contrast, and you won't find a truer blue anywhere. If it gets too gangly, prune it back, mow it down, jump up and down on it; it will pop back with the same amount of flowers in less space. It is a perennial "weed", but not that invasive.
Vicky MAz6/5 - Don't forget lithodora 'Heavenly Blue'. I have several. They are a true blue similar to anchusa and bloom over a long period. Mine grow best in part shade e.g. morning sun. There is also a paler blue called 'Grace Ward' that is lovely but less intense.
Carol G. - True blue and salmon are my favorite colors-both are hard to find. Try minor bulb muscari azureum (true med-lt blue) and brunnera macrophylia (true med-lt blue). My only other true blue flowers are delphinium belladonna Cliveden Beauty (lt blue), delphinium bellamosa (dark blue), anchusa (lt-med blue), and chinese delphinium (dark blue)-which is not really perennial. My "blue" bearded iris, veronicas, gentians, and salvias are all tinged with violet, but some come close to true blue. I used to have a very dark almost true dark blue veronica Crater Lake Blue, but my new plants are tinged with violet. I've read that the seed produces variable colors. Thus, you may or may not get a good shade of blue from a supplier. If you like bearded iris, look for "sapphire" blue in the description.
Marie GA/Z7 - Did I miss a mention of balloon flowers? Mine have been going strong all summer and although they are the short variety, they have been great. Catmint and Russian sage are also must-haves.
Boca Joe MD/z6b - Well gang, I have 5 more for you, and I mean B-L-U-E: (and all grown here in central MD about 25 miles NW of Washington, DC)
- TWEEDIA or OXYPETALUM 'Blue Cheer'. I have grown these for about 3 years and they even wintered over here in the garden! They are in the milkweed family, and bloom all season whether in pots or in the ground. Kinda sprawling, viney 2' plants, with TURQUOISE, yes, TURQUOISE BLUE 1" star shaped flowers. The color is unlike anything else I have seen. The end of season gives you typical milkweed seed pods. They love sun and heat.
- Tropical plumbago - PLUMBAGO AURICULATA (capensis), again, light, viney 18" plants with light POWDER BLUE flowers all season. MIne have been grown in pots and in the garden in part shade to full sun and they never quit till frost. And this year , I must've had a dozen seedlings pop up in the gravel under the deck and in the garden from LAST YEAR's plant in a pot on the deck. UNREAL , clear POWDER BLUE , phlox shaped flowers.
- Good old FORGET-ME-NOTS: I started with 3 plants one spring about 7 years ago. They spread like crazy, bloom from end of March till June with heavenly, tiny rich, BLUE flowers in a haze or mist. Great with daffs, tulips, pansies, etc. as a ground cover. This year they self sowed more than ever, I must have 20 plants for next year. Never lost one yet to the winter and they transplant very easy in early spring, even in full bloom, very fibrous shallow rootball.
- ANAGALIS monelli, Rich deep delphinum TURQUOISE-BLUE 1" flowers on kinda weedy 10" plants.
- EVOLVULUS 'Blue Daze', nickel shaped true-BLUE flowers on low spreading plants about 8" high x 24" across by October. They are still in full bloom here after several frosts. Great blue color to compliment the hot summer flowers like portulaca and geraniums.
Rich - I've been growing lobelia syphilitica for years and it sure looks blue to me. I think it's a great border plant, giving blues right before the asters do their thing, and multiplies yearly at a nice rate. A tightly packed planting of 8 is just right .
Alex - Another good blue is Aconitum napellus.... blooms very late and is just gorgeous. Has anyone mentioned Linum perenne, blue flax? Blooms here, zone 5, from mid-May well into August. Very frilly, and the most beautiful "sky blue"!!!. Jasione perennis (Shepherd's Scabious or Sheep's Bit), Catananche caerulea (Love Plant or Cupid's Dart) --- if anyone has seen it blooming or in a catalog, you'll notice it's more violet.... the catalogs say it's a true blue. When the flowers first emerge, they do look blue, but fade to a bluish-violet when they are open a while. One more.... Hepatica spp. The most common color seen is a rich, true blue. They also come in a wide array of pastel colors.
Neil z5IL - What about Gentians? The bottle gentian, G. andrewsii, is a native, 1-2 feet tall. This year, I'm going to try G. salicifolia in a shady spot. Both of these are late-summer blooming.
Diana - Corydalis 'Blue Panda' is one of my personal favorites. Here in our garden, in SW Washington, just north of Portland Oregon, it blooms from early February into early summer, and again lightly in fall after taking a summer dormancy. We have had reports of it doing well in the Chicago area in 26 degrees BELOW zero, with 2" of snow cover. So it is not the cold that would do it in as much as the heat, and soil that is too heavy and wet, or too dry. As others on this forum have mentioned, beware of catalogs advertising 'blue' flowers this also goes for red)- color is very subjective, and most 'blue' flowers have a strong undertone of lavender, like campanula or geraniums. The general effect is blue, but the true clear blue we are seeking is rare.
Lise B (Quebec) - Lithodora diffusa (Lithospermum diffusum) is a little gem that I grow succesfully in USDA 3 with winter protection (straw). I planted the plant in a peat bed facing north near a Rhododendron. It grows fast in such a situation.
Gloria OR/Z9 - Has anyone mentioned the beautiful blue flowering herb, borage? It's about 3 ft. tall with intense cobalt blue flowers, sometimes with a little pink in them. The flowers are edible and are supposed to relieve depression! They taste good--sort of like cumcumber. Somewhere I read they can be frozen in ice cubes for a real Martha like punch! Borage self seeds.
Connie - In looking over your follow-up responses, I did not see the beautiful blue Penstemon heterophyllus 'True Blue' mentioned. It really is an outstanding "blue" penstemon. I live in Oregon, zone 7/8 and it does great! Just be sure and give it good drainage.
Perennials Forum FAQ Page
| Perennials Forum
| Other Forums