PlantFiles: Blue Mist Spiraea, Bluebeard
Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Blue Mist'

Had a row of these plants put in along our walkway almost two years ago. They filled in and bloomed heavily last summer and are just coming into bloom this year. The bees are more interested in the flowers than anyone walking by. This spring I noticed hundreds, if not thousands, of little plants which I thought were weeds. As I pulled them out I noticed the slight scent and soon realized they were blue mist shrub seedlings. Many of them are now about 4-10" high and starting to bush out. I have been transplanting to other areas and giving some away. I have found that after it rains they can just be pulled out with all the roots and transplant very well.

I do like this plant overall. One of the biggest problems with it however is that it is VERY brittle. It tends to break with the slightest bit of contact. Just make sure it is planted where things such as dogs, garden hoses or high winds will not break it. The problem is that branches rarely break off, but rather it breaks off right at the roots and then tends to die.

This shrub grew FAST here and bloomed like crazy all summer until the first frost.. and this was our first year with it!

BUT.. if you don't like bees, don't plant near the front door as we did.. the bumblebees went nuts over it and would get agressive as we walked by. Needless to say, the shrub is being moved this spring!

If you like a naturalizing look...this little bush/shrub is for you...with its wispy "branches" and beautiful blooms it makes for a delicate accent. I have noticed it is sllloooowww growing...but the light scent and soothing color make up for it.

I love my blue mist shrubs! Sounds like every body else does too with more than one in their gardens I have 7 of them, one mama plant and 6 babies that I started in the spring and they got to be 2’ around if not more and bloomed until the first hard frost, mine have never reseeded and I have never cut mine back but plan to try that in the spring and see how they do I’m all for more flowers but it has a lot already. The butterflies and hummers do love this shrub!

Beautiful blue flowers in August, September when everything else is gone. Keeps spreading and fills in areas that have already bloomed and are dying down. I love this plant and have it in two places. They survived an ice storm and two late frosts in Zone 4 this year.

One of my favorites and I've successfully taken cuttings and grown new ones. They grow very quickly from cuttings and look beautiful.

I love this plant. It smells so great and both folage and flowers are beautiful. I have 2 that are 4 years old, and they both have survived our Montana winters (zone 3-4).

In SE Michigan - grows well. Also reseeds itself readily. I have picked up offspring around the other plants and transplanted them successfully. Need to be pruned twice each season as they tend to grow rapidly and out of proportion. Such a pretty color of blue. Need water - but not too much - will cause problems.

I love this plant! Beautiful mound of blue spires most of the summer, the hummingbirds absolutely flock to it, and if you cut it down in the spring it gets better every year. It loves sun, hardly needs watering, and overwinters well in zone 5. I have 1 on each corner of my house.

A hybrid between C. incana and C. mongholica. The lavender-blue flowers are produced abundantly in late summerand are very attractive to bees and butterflies. With pinching, it will continue to bloom until frost.

Cold hardy to this zone (6) at least, but prune hard in the spring, even if there isn't much winter dieback. The plant will look sad for a bit, but you'll get a tighter shrub and more flowers for your efforts.