Caryopteris/AKA Blue Spirea, Blue-mist

New to me...saw it in the Wayside catalog.
Pretty! I love blue blossoms.
Is it easy to grow?
Read it dies back in Z5 but bouces back and blooms on new growth.
Any comments appreciated.

I love it and find it very easy to grow...but I'm not sure if it's equally easy everywhere, or if my climate is a big factor. I seem to recall seeing it in gardens back when I lived in Cincinnati which I think is zone 6a, so hopefully it should do OK for you.

It died on me after the first year and didn't sprout a next year. I too loved it. I gave up.

Thank you for your comments.
Zone issues could make a big difference.

Soferdig
Caryopteris is rated for Z5 but one variety "Summer Sorbet" in the Wayside catalog is rated for Z4. It has a gold edged leaf and its suppose to be more stable and robust than the other varieties.
I might try that one and one of the others since they are rated for my zone.

Cottage~ There are 3 caryopteris in the upper back with the blue blooms between the marigolds' blooms . This is their 2nd year in this garden. They are easy to grow in zone 5b. The caroypteris is slow to emerge in very late Spring to early Summer, once green growth emerges prune the woody stems down to ground level. Quick growth will follow with gorgeous blue blooms and wispy foliage till killing frost. Let the shrub go dormant and provide winter interest, it is important not to prune till after the shrub emerges, so be patient! I plant many perennials and annuals near the shrubs to disguise the dead woody stems with blooms. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do in my gardens. ;0)

This message was edited Jan 30, 2008 8:27 AM

I too love Caryopteris, I have a two year old 'Longwood Blue" and two one year old "Dark Knight" plants. I am in zone - maybe - 8, haven't figured it out quite yet - acc. to the arborday new hardiness zones.

One thing I can't quite figure out is about pruning. In one place I read to prune after the last frost, and here, garden6 says "very late Spring to early Summer, once green growth emerges". Maybe that is the same thing? My last frost date is/was April 23, so early May?

I did notice that the two-year old did not do as well last summer than the year before. Perhaps it had to do with the tremendous drought we are having and I did not water enough? The smaller shrubs did not grow as much as I thought they would, perhaps for the same reason.

I will have to transplant the two-year old, it chokes out surrounding plants (inexperienced gardener!!). Does anyone have advice on that? After radical pruning, but still in May?

Thanks for your helpful ideas,
Clementine

This might be helpful...
"Growing Caryopteris"
http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/caryopteris.html

Does fine for me, but I'm 6b.

Caryopteris does fine for me to - 20 degrees. Needs deadwooding in the spring is all.

Mine does wonderfully. I love it. z5a. I've had them for three years.

Wow that pic makes me want to get some for sure!
Thanks!

The bees love them. I made the mistake of putting them too close to the front door. This is in late August.

I have had no trouble growing caryopteris here in Zone 5b. It always dies back to about 4", but it's obvious what needs to be cut off in the spring, once new growth starts up. It does suffer in really dry conditions though, so extra watering in drought is worth it. Also, most all varieties will self-seed in good years (but not overly as to be a pest), and you'll have all sorts of babies to use. I'm not sure if they are true to variety, but worth the effort as they grow like weeds in one year. Caryopteris mixes well with grasses and 'KnockOut' roses.

Me again asking about transplanting a caryopteris.

Has anyone ever transplanted one from one spot in the garden to another spot? Mine gets really huge and grows over other plants it is not intended to,

Normally I would cut it back later in spring. When I bought it, it was sometime in May. Can one consider planting out of a pot and transplanting as essentially the same?

So, should I cut it back in Spring, then transplant - immediately or wait?

Thank you for helping me out with this. Is this an appropriate thread for this type of question?

Clementine

Spring and fall before it gets hot is the ideal time to transplant.
I would move it as soon as the soil is workable and before it breaks dormancy.
My rule of thrumb when transplanting anything...
Do'nt put fertilizer in the planting hole other than maybe a handful of bone meal and water, water, water! Don't let it dry out.

Thank you, Cottage_Rose, our soil can be worked almost all the time here, I am in Zone 7, closer to 8. So, I guess are you saying that I could cut it back almost any time before it breaks dormancy, maybe a couple of weeks before I would normally do it . Then transplant. You should see this shrub, it is huge, I would say 5x6'.

I usually prune the year before I transplant large specimens to let the plant size relate to the size of moved root ball. Maybe just a light pruning before would be helpful. Less transpiration this hot summer.

I am not sure this would apply to a caryopteris, Soferdig. This shrub usually gets cut back radically in spring (and it is deciduous). I take your point where a large evergreen might be concerned, yes?

I have six of them - C. "Summer Sorbet" a variegated cultivar. In two years time they grew to 5'. I cut them back hard each fall after a hard freeze. They bloom and are lovely. However they do not have a pleasant oder. Definitey not a plant for an entryway or close to a window. They seem to appreciate regular moisture.

snapple...do they stink?!
what do they smell like?

It's not the kind of scent that wafts across the air in a breeze. You have to be fairly close. It's kind of like a cross between rotton lemons and cat urine. It's definitley unpleasant, but not over powering. They are a good plant for a sunny shrub border.

sounds delightful...LOL ;o)

Mine doesn't smell like that! LOL It doesn't smell like much until you brush against the leaves. Then it smells kind of minty and kind of...? What?

If only the variegated variety smelled that good.! You do have to be close. I hurry up if I'm weeding around it.

Sage-y/minty is all I could come up with. My mother-in-Law swears it smells like a plant she grew in Puerto Rico. She can't remember what it's called, though. Big help, I know. ☺

Well my common sage can have a sort of cat urine scent so I can understand what snapple is talking about.

I'm glad I don't have any of that! LOL