Blue Star Amsonia

Another name for Blue Star Amsonia is Dog Bane, and it offers different decorative functions depending upon the season, and as such is a highly attractive plant right through the warmer months of the year.

Amsonia - Blue Ice

Its beautiful lace like foliage last till fall, and consists of lovely green needle like or lance shaped leaves. These turn an exquisite golden yellow color in fall. So you see the plant will remain ornamental all through the warm seasons.

Flowering lasts for just about two weeks in early summer, and the plants reach a height of between one to three feet, and spread out up to three feet. Bloom time lasts to 1 month.

This is a nice plant for a garden, even though it is slow growing, because it will not invade the rest of the garden, instead growing quietly in the place allotted to it.

Care of the plant

It is not hard to take care of this plant. It can tolerate almost any sort of soil and anything from shade to sunlight. What you need to remember is that these plants need to be kept moist, especially in summer.

If you use dead heading on this plant, cutting away the dead flowers, it usually results in a second blossoming. This extends the spring time flowering of the plant and even makes it more bushy, so that the plant's attractiveness is enhanced even beyond the flowering period.

Propagation

This plant is best propagated in the dormant period, and this is accomplished by the simple procedure of division. It is also possible to collect seeds that you can sow, though the plant is quite capable of self sowing if left to its own devices.

As you can see, this plant is elementary to culture and maintain. Moreover, there are a great many varieties that you can choose from, so do a little research into the attributes and needs and availability of each variety before choosing the right one for your garden.

Soils

Like many shade plants, Blue Star Amsonia originated in moist woods and growing on mossy banks. However, unlike many other plants of this type, it is very hardy.

It grows best when kept moist, but will not die out in intermediate dry periods. It prefers shade or partial shade, but can be grown even in full sunlight.

However an important thing to remember about soils is that you must not make the soil too rich – strangely enough, doing so actually causes the plant to grow in an inferior manner. Average soil works best for this flowering plant.

Landscaping

Amsonia - Blue Ice

It can be used as a back drop for the colors of more exotically colored plants, especially the silvers and blues of scabiosa and artemisia. Another nice idea is to plant it alongside perennials with dark leaves, such as Heuchera and Sedum, where the gold colors of fall of the plant will create a lovely contrast.

Different Varieties of Blue Star Amsonia

There are many different varieties to choose from with different attributes, so read the labels to select the right one for your needs.

Amsonia - Blue Ice - For Sale

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