Sapphire Surf Caryopteris. Photo courtesy First Editions Plants.
I don’t even remember where my first caropyteris came from back in the ‘90s. I’m sure it was a trial plant. I took it down to show my cousin William at his greenhouse and we were both impressed by the aromatic foliage. And the wonderful blue flowers are a favorite of bees and butterflies.
The other cool thing about caryopteris — commonly called bluebeard or blue mist spirea — is its bloom time of mid- to late summer, when the landscape is slowing down.
Caryopteris is a member of the Lamiaceae family, which includes salvias and mints. It is a long-blooming shrubby plant with slightly arching or upright branches. Sapphire Surf is low growing and could easily work as a ground cover. Caryopteris usually dies back in winter. Come spring, I cut it back and shape it up
Caryopteris does best in full sun and tolerates part shade in average soil. The shrub is drought tolerant but would be happy with a little water during extremely dry periods. Snip a few branches for indoor enjoyment.
A cultivar with pink flowers is Beyond Pink’d and Sunshine Blue II has chartreuse leaves with blue flowers.