Bluestar
Amsonia tabernaemontana. APOCYNACEAE.
Planting and Growing Bluestar
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow bluestar in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of bluestar
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for bluestar
- Season of bloom and planting time for bluestar
- When, how deep, and where to plant bluestar
- How to plant bluestar
- Watering, fertilizing, care and pests or diseases of bluestar
- Landscape and container uses of bluestar
- Comments about bluestar and its features
Growing Bluestar
Several varieties and cultivars of slow-growing, long-lived, erect, slender, shrublike, deciduous herbs, to 42 in. (1.1 m) tall, 18–24 in. (45–60 cm) wide. Matte, bright green, lance-shaped, willowlike leaves, to 9 in. (23 cm) long, turning yellow in autumn.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many gray blue, steel gray, star-shaped flowers, to 3/4–in. (19–mm) wide, with light blue centers, in drumsticklike, terminal clusters, to 6 in. (15 cm) wide, in late spring–early summer.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 4–9.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich–average. 6.5–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring, zones 4–7; autumn, zones 8–9, in full sun to partial shade, 6–9 in. (15–23 cm) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp until established; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Drought tolerant thereafter. Fertilize monthly during growth. Propagate by cuttings, division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for borders in natural, wildlife gardens. Good for cutting. Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds. Pest and disease resistant.