How to Grow and Care for Bluebeards

The mongolian bluebeard has blue-purple flowers that are favorites of sheep and goats. It was used in Chinese medicine for edema and dyspepsia, while many use it as an ornamental in their gardens. It generally grows in valleys and on sandy lands.

Blue-beard (Caryopteris incana) is native to China and Japan. It is a small, compact shrub with showy blue flowers which attract bees and butterflies. Both the leaves and the flowers are fragrant. It is low-maintenance, deer-resistant, and valuable as a hedge, in mixed borders, or as a perennial as the flowers continue into the fall.

A popular cultivar in gardens, caryopteris is used to provide color after other plants are finished blooming. The dark blue flowers appear in the late summer attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators to the area. The flowers’ color also gives the bush its occasional common name “blue mist.”

Where most Bluebeards have plain green leaves bluebeard boasts striking variegated foliage with green leaf centers bordered by a lemon-sorbet-colored yellow. This outstanding plant, ideal for borders and butterfly gardens, has received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.

Caryopteris 'Heavenly Blue' is an upright, compact shrub that puts on a stunning show of small blue flowers and toothed green-gray leaves on arching branches. It is a cultivar of Caryopteris species and named for its beautiful blue color. Plant in your mixed border to attract bees and butterflies and add a burst of unusual color.