Ceratostigma 'AUTUMN BLUE' hardy plumbago, leadwort
size/type
low or groundcovering,low or groundcovering
usual height
0,2-0,4m
usual width
0,3-0,5m
leaves
deciduous broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
showy
colour of flowers
blooming time
July-October
location
full to partial sun
USDA zone (lowest)
7 (down to -23°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Visiting Mediterranean seaside resorts you must have noticed a handsome shrub with arching branches bearing sky blue flowers - plumbago auriculata. It is too tender for continental Europe, though, there are relatives that can deal with our winters and look very similar. They are generally called hardy plumbago and bear deeper blue flowers.
Description of the plant:
Autumn Blue is a dwarf or ground-covering variety of hardy plumbago. It bears gentian-blue, 5-petalled, 1-2 cm large flowers, borne in terminal clusters from August till the first frost. In hot summers the flowers appear early in the month, in average or cold summers from late August. Deciduous leaves are obovate, medium green, and in early autumn turn dark red to light burgundy red, and scarlet red and golden orange in lower parts while new flowers keep popping up offering a unique colour combination. In the trade you can often come across its classification as a variety of c.plumaginoides, however, RHS confirms it is a hybrid, probably with c.willmottianum thanks to hairy leaf margins while c.plumbaginoides foliage is almost naked.
Hardy ground-covering plumbago does best in a position with plenty of sunlight yet slightly sheltered during the hottest afternoons of summer. It is soil tolerant but needs free draining soil. In the wild it usually grows in poor soil so make sure not to feed it too much - excess fertilizing might burn the roots. It is often used in larger rockeries where more plants are recommended to help cover larger areas. Remove all above-ground parts in early spring. Hardy to about -24°C (USDA zone 6).
Last update 10-08-2018
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GLOSSARY
- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
