PlantFiles: Bluebeard
Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Dark Knight'

Here in Zone8a this plant grows great! It is very beautiful when it blooms in the summer and fall. All our neighbors comment how pretty it is! It is very tolerant of our Texas heat, humidity, and lack of rain in the warm months and does very well over the cooler winter months. I would recommend this plant to other gardeners in a similar climate.

I love Caryopteris! I love the blue color of most of the varieties and recently saw that there is a soft pink color of a new variety this year.

Planted Dark Knight Spring '06 and having problems with the stems 'laying down' as well has becoming week and splitting off. Possibly it needs harder pruning early on. ?

I like the True blue flowers. It is next to the Black Hollyhock and Star Gazer Lillies, and adds quite a bit of needed contrast.

I planted three in partial sun in zone 7a last spring. They flowered luxuriantly the same year -- put on a real show, plus the flowers have a delicious scent. The bumblebees agreed, but we didn't get any wasps. Ours have sapphire-blue flowers and soft gray-green foliage, on a mini tree-form habit. I've heard that they can spread quite a bit, so will update if that happens.

Have just purchased caryopteris Dark Knight, and put it in a bed next to Pee Gee hydrangea. The combination of the Dark Knight blue flowers against the white of the hydrangea is a lovely fresh change from the usual reds and yellows of most late summer flowers.

I just purchased Bluebeard 'Dark Knight' yesterday. Being a native Floridian, this was the first time I've ever heard of this lovely plant, so if anyone else from Florida has any growing suggestions, I'd appreciate any and all input. MotherNature4

Although it is supposed to be hardy to zone 4, this plant is not reliably hardy for me, possibly because of too much moisture in the winter dormant season. The flowers are welcome in the late summer and autumn, but I must replace it every 2-3 years.