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Blue leadwood

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

Also called Blue Leadwort, Dwarf Plumbago, Hardy Plumbago

Blue leadwood
Photo: This photo was taken by Dave Whitinger, CC BY-SA 3.0

Blue leadwort is a low, mat-forming hardy perennial with bright blue late-summer flowers and leaves that turn red in autumn. It thrives in a sunny, sheltered spot with moist but well-drained soil, and it can spread vigorously, so pots or dry-wall crevices suit it well.

Family
Plumbaginaceae (Plumbagin family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep soil moist during the growing season and allow the top to dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Moist but well-drained soil; a garden loam or gritty potting mix.
Temperature
Hardy to about -10 °C; protect young growth from hard frosts.
How easy
Easy
Native range
NC. & EC. China
Climate
temperate

About

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, the hardy blue-flowered leadwort, is a species of flowering plant in the plumbago family, native to China, where it is known as 蓝雪花 (pinyin: lánxuěhuā; lit. 'blue snow-flower').

How to grow it

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is grown as an ornamental plant in temperate climates, valued for its late season colour. It is hardy down to −10 °C (14 °F), but prefers a sunny, sheltered position in moist, well-drained soil. As it can become invasive, it is particularly suited to growing in a pot, or crevices in a dry stone wall. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Where it grows

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is native to eastern China, specifically Beijing and the provinces of Henan, Jiangsu, Shanxi and Zhejiang. It is usually found in rocky places, often in foothills.

Other Ceratostigma plants

Chinese-plumbago · Leadwort

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ceratostigma plumbaginoides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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