AMSONIA

The Amsonia tabernamontana was brought to my attention long ago with it’s recognizably distinct shape and blue flowers. That year I noticed the shape of the Amsonia again, in it’s beautiful yellow fall color. Their stupendous rounded form originates from the central crown of the plant. It’s rounded shape and sturdy form result from many individual stems with the exact right length to round it out. When in bloom, a cluster of small blue, star shaped flowers adorn every tip. Hence the common name, Blue Star.

THE AMSONIA TABERNAEMONTANA WAS ON THE LIST AWARDED BEST 75 GARDEN PLANTS BY AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY!

AMSONIA WE CARRY AT VINEYARD GARDENS

Amsonia has multi season interest with it’s blue spring flowers, fall color and interesting texture. Amsonia’s texture contrasts beautifully with the plants around it, in particular the hubrichtii with it’s long needle like foliage. Amsonia offers a lot in the garden plus it is deer resistant!

• Amsonia tabernamontana: the species

• Blue Ice: a more compact cultivar

• Amsonia hubrichtii is another species of Amsonia we carry. It is quite different than the tabernamontana. It has very narrow, needle like leaves that line the stems, which again originate in a central crown. Tips lined with blue flowers. Amsonia hubrichtii was awarded the Perennial Plant of the Year Award in 2011.

PLANTS ARE CLASSIFIED BY THEIR FLOWERS. IT’S THE FLOWERS THAT HAVE TO BE SIMILAR FOR THE PLANTS TO BE RELATED.

CARE

• Amsonia are easy to grow. They are US prairie plants so they are not fussy.

• They prefer well drained soil

• They prefer full sun, but tabernamontana does ok in a partial shade. It just won’t bloom as well.

Since that first encounter long ago I have grown to love the Genus!