Caryopteris 'Blue Balloon' vignette

Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

Here is a nice grouping, Caryopteris 'Blue Balloon' with Artemisia 'Valerie Finnis' and Coreopsis 'Pink Sapphire'.
The Caryopteris has proven easy and hardy for me, although is is bigger than advertised. This year I added the Artemisia (hoping it is not too vigorous but maybe the clay will restrain it), and Coreopsis (supposedly is more perennial than other hybrids which are mostly annuals for me). If you look close you can see I have not deadheaded the Coreopsis, but it keeps blooming anyway and the brown old flowers are not too noticeable. So far they all seem pretty easy, I haven't watered in August until today. I will expand this theme next year if the Artemisia and Coreopsis survive our soggy winter.
I have planted 2 other varieties of Caryopteris, as this one has proved so pretty and easy. So far this one is my favorite but the new ones have not bloomed yet.

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(Pam) Warren, CT(Zone 5b)

Very pretty! I've always loved Caryopteris, but they've never been reliably hardy for me. Valerie Finnis is a favorite, so far it has behaved well and not wandered. The Coreopsis I don't know, but it's lovely. Good luck with them all!

Springfield, OR(Zone 8a)

Wow, mlm, beautiful combination. And now I know there's a pink coreopsis.

Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

Man MLM, you've got two plants that were killed by the polar vortex in my garden. I loved the pink sapphire I had but that never came up this year. Also, I had a 'Dark Knight' caryopteris and that started to leaf out but then died this spring. Your combo looks pretty though :)

Stroudsburg, PA(Zone 6a)

Very pretty. I love caryopteris and have several. They give a welcome coolness to late summer.

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Saint Louis, MO(Zone 6a)

I like the golden leaved caryopteris incana cultivars - I like the blue-against-gold color combo.
There are several, this one is called Sunshine Blue. A bee magnet.
I also like caryopteris divaricata - very different look, but still late summer bloom.

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Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

Thanks everyone!
Sequoia- I planted 'Dark Knight' there twice when I first moved here. Each time it did not come back (tough winters), but the 'Blue Balloon' seems much tougher. This winter it got down to 10 degrees here. You might want to give it a try. I am keeping my fingers crossed about the 'Pink Sapphire'. So far I have only one coreopsis (Jethro Tull) that is hardy for me, and I have planted many cultivars.
Weerobin- I have two of the 'Sunshine Blue' I planted last summer. they are growing well, but did not bloom. Your photos give me hope. I also planted some variegated ones (can't recall name) this year as these other ones are doing so well. All I do for care is prune them to about 6" tall in the spring (they are really a sub-shrub here rather than a perennial). Quite drought-tolerant, bees love them, and slugs ignore them. Slug-resistance is important here. I was taking out the trash after dark the other day and stepped on one that must have been at least 6" long- so long I actually slipped and fell. Ugh.

Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

Wow, only one coreopsis that's hardy? You must have soil like ours. My 'Zagreb' comes back faithfully as well as a Sweet Dream but the rest have only come back for one or two years before dying off. They are a must have for my garden though so they will always be replaced if lost. Oh, I just remembered that 'Star Cluster' has also come back for me this year. I don't know if I'm up for trying another Caryopteris just yet but I'll keep that in mind if I do.

Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

'Zagreb' died on me too. I should start treads titled Coreopsis I have loved and lost. Also Veronica, Agastache, Echinacea, Salvia. Theme-good drainage and sand preferred.

Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

Wow, that's a shame because your zone would support them all. I just started trying out some different salvia so we'll see how they do this winter. I do have one salvia that is a faithful returner. Same with echinacea, no issues. I just don't have a lot of them because I prefer plants that spread and mine don't. No issues on veronica yet but all mine are 1-2 seasons old. I was really surprised that I had 3 of 4 agastache return from last winter. The one that died, I expected to die so it wasn't really a loss. I was super surprised that my one red one came back because usually the purples are more hardy. Gaillardia and rudbeckia are annuals for me except for the fulgida clan.

Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

I used to garden just a mile from here on sand, and had great luck with Agastache and most Salvia. Just goes to show what a difference the soil makes. I tried Salvia tupa and a few of the more tropical ones there, they didn't make it which I attributed to lack of heat.We are in AHS Heat Zone 2 here, which means it hardly ever gets hot. Dallas TX where I once lived in also zone 8 for hardiness, but is AHS heat zone 9. Man it was hot there.

Anderson, IN(Zone 6a)

Yes I lived in Dallas , I agree Hot , hot , Hot , I am really from Mesquite Texas ..

No much have I tried the Above ,, very pretty settings and blooms in the gardens !!! ^_^
Here's a frost red purple almost ice plant it's color tickseed or fern leaf , Coreopsis "center stage" spreading and growing after two seasons ,
Need to weed , it is past it's full bloom time , and still going ,, blooms a long time here .
If I get more it might make a good trial companion with feverfew , long blooming and all ..

Anderson, IN(Zone 6a)

oops .. the pic ...

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Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

That's a nice one Juhur! I think I'm a zone 5 on the AHS map. I've never looked at that before.

Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

ju that is a pretty one, foliage maybe thinner and just a bit greyer. I might have to try it.
Sequoia-I like the concept of AHS Heatzones, to complement the USDA Hardiness zones. I think we all know that Dallas and Seattle are not the same, though both are zone 8. This new rating helps, but not all plants have been tested and sometimes the tags are just wrong. I can't think of any particular one off the top of my head but I think I have many that grow here but the tag says they won't grow in zone 2. I wonder if the AHS has a mechanism for people to let them know when it is wrong. Maybe AHS should get a membership in DG and use the zipcode reports in PlantFiles!

Anderson, IN(Zone 6a)

This is still a dark blue AHS 5 here , it gets plenty hot and plenty cold ,,

Hardiness zone is variable 5-6 , some seasons a 4 , some a 7 ,, who does ? nature does that ..

Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

Yeah that would be nice MLM! Heat zones aren't much of an issue here where we live but in places like yours it sure would be.

Monkton, MD(Zone 6b)

I must have some old variety of Caryopteris - my husband bought it and lost the tag - I do have the tag for Caryopteris Snow Fairy and this one is similar but much larger and no variegation. This one seeds like crazy. It gives me plenty for our MG plant sale. It is a wonderful plant for the late summer bees. Before the Asters open this is a great plant for our bees.

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Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

Great photo! Bzzzz.

Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

Dangit the Coreopsis 'Pink Sapphire' did not make it though the winter. However, Valerie is still there, and even has one little offset I could do something with. I cut back the Caryopteris to about 6", I think it would be a 12 foot tall shrub if I let it. Any ideas of what I should replace the pink flower with? Maybe just some cheap annual like a pink petunia?

Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

What about a pink zinnia instead?

Lake Stevens, WA(Zone 8a)

Hmm, maybe I will try Zinnia 'Profusion Cherry'.
Zinnias in general often do poorly here, I think it's just not hot enough in the summer. But 'Profusion orange' does bloom and reportedly the others in that series also tolerate coolness. Also this spring has been scarily warm and dry, we may have a scorcher of a summer (for us).

Lititz, PA(Zone 6b)

How about Cosmos? They look close to Coreopsis. My 'Pink Sapphire' only lasted two years, which was a miracle of sorts since it was only marginally hardy in my zone. If you're trying to get a blue and pink color thing going, why not check out physotegia virginiana?

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