Bluebeard

Appearance

The Blue Mist spirea (Caryopteris x clandonensis) is a deciduous, perennial shrub that grows to a height of 3 to 5 feet in most areas but has been known to grow taller in certain environments. The opposite, gray-green, lance-shaped leaves are serrated along the margins and often fragrant. In the summer, clusters of blue flowers grow up the top third of the stems. The flowers appear at the axis of two leaves and also at the tip end of the stem, creating a vision of color ranging in shades of light to dark purple-blue, depending on the cultivar. Bumblebees, butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. The fruit is a four-valved capsule, with each valve containing one seed.
The Blue Mist spirea blooms profusely into early fall. As the weather turns cooler, its leaves will drop and the flowers develop a papery texture with a lovely wheat color.

Naming

Common names: Blue beard, Blue-spirea, Blue-mist

Habitat

The Blue Mist spirea should be planted in moist, well-drained soil and exposed to full sun in order to maximize blooms. It can happily exist in light shade where it is more drought tolerant although it will not bloom quite as prolifically.

History and timeline

The cross between the C. incana and the C. mongholica that created the hybrid Caryopteris x clandonensis happened quite accidentally. In 1930 Arthur Simmonds, an Englishman from Clandon near Guilford, Surrey, collected seeds to propagate the C. mongholica. However, the C. incana must have been in the same general area from where he collected seeds. The result of that particular propagation was the cross between the C. incana and the C mongholica. Even though this hybridization was accidental, it went on to win several Royal Horticulture Society medals in 1933. Clandonensis is named for Clandon where the hybrid first appeared.

Uses

Among the many popular cultivars that have been developed from this hybrid are: ’Blue Mist’, ‘Heavenly Blue’, ‘Longwood Blue’, ‘Dark Knight’, ‘Summer Sorbet’ and ‘Pershore’.