Caryopteris, Bluebeard, Blue Mist Spirea 'Worcester Gold'

This beautiful scrub grows very well in central Maryland. The yellow-green leaves look stunning under deciduous trees (ours is under a r...Read Moreed maple). It may require this bit of shade during harsh summer afternoons to prevent burning. There is no significant winter dieback here, so I trim 6 to 12 inches in late winter to maintain a neat mound and ensure lots of blooms. Blooms summer through frost and is constantly covered in honey bees, moths, and painted ladies.

Beware of planting other carypoteris in your yard. We started getting a mixture of grey-leaved and yellow-green-leaved volunteers once we planted a Dark Knight in the back yard. Sadly, they always seem to sprout in the very rocky soil right next to the driveway and do not survive being transplanted, not even when very small to a pot with bag soil. I let some of them stay for a year or two - they bloom the first year and the honey bees love them so!

I've tried growing several cultivars of caryopteris and this is the only successful one so far (the others haven't grown much and look w...Read Moreimpy). The gold leaves look sensational spring through fall, and the blue flowers in the fall are a dramatic addition. I have it in full sun, poor but amended soil. I have fertilized with slow release organic fertilizer and water it occasionally in the summer. I may plant more.

I grew this in a large pot where it thrived for several years. I welcomed it's rebirth each spring because of the light colored leaves, ...Read Moreand later, the long lasting sprigs of purple flowers which the bees and butterflies loved. I lost mine this past winter for unk reasons but will look to replace it soon. A great addition to the garden.

This plant grows well in California in the hot Central Valley. However, direct sun may burn edges even though an ample amount of sun is ...Read Moreneeded to get the brilliant gold color to stand out. My suggestion is to plant in morning sun areas. The leaves will turn a lime green in late summer or in shade.