Has anyone grown this shrub? I received it in a trade, and it is really beautiful. It is in bloom and the flowers are really unique. The flowers do not look like other caryopteris blooms at all. It is and dainty and beautiful.
I cannot get a decent picture of the flower.
The flower is the same form as the Clerodendrum, blue butterfly. This flower is a lot smaller and it looks like a lilac butterfly.
I found this write-up regarding this plant on Plant Delight's Nursery site:
Yes, Virginia, it is a caryopteris. Forget what you know about Caryopteris x clandonensis, as this cousin comes from a distant limb of the family tree. This variegated Japanese selection of the wonderful Himalayan perennial Caryopteris divaricata forms a small, compact clump composed of fuzzy, green, deer-resistant leaves, each surrounded with a bright white border, and smelling amazingly like cat urine when crushed (important safety tip...do not crush leaves). Starting in mid-September, the clumps are topped with delightful "blue curls." This is a real WOW plant that must be seen to be believed.
We have had one for years and I absolutely love it. The foliage does have a stink odor when you disturb it but I wouldn't say cat pee. This is a photo of ours and when all else is done blooming it provides light and beauty. The flowers are insignificant versus the non- variegated caryopteris. As you can see, ours has seedlings coming through from a solid one I ripped out years ago. We are gone all summer and this is what I return to. I talk about this plant in a xeriscape talk that I do and everyone wants to know where to find it - Plant Delights is the only company that seems to have it all the time. It is not a reseeder like the solid one which is unfortunate, I would love to share them.
Mine is in full sun, I moved it this year, and it flowered. It had been in dappled shade, with no flowers.
The smell is not apparent to me, I had to actually man-handle the leaf to get a scent. I think my sage smells more like cat pee...
Judy
Our exposure is light shade which is hard to define. That plant is in the shade from our house for about 2/3 of the day and then gets strong sunshine for about 2 - 3 hours and then some dappled shade in that later PM. Whatever, it is really happy in that spot. It is also protected from wind but since it dies back to woody stems that we cut back to the ground I guess wind shoudn't be a problem. It is a dandy plant but it does like its' space.
otta - Gosh - am I supposed to be cutting my 'Sunshine Blue' back to the ground? I get a little tip damage over winter but I just snip it out in the spring. Of course, it could probably use a bit of a prune since I haven't really shaped it. I have mine on the south side of the garage, halfway behind one of those wing walls to give it a little winter protection from the northwest winds. Your light exposure sounds very similar to mine. I'm finding I "must" add 'Snow Fairy' to my want list.
