CARYOPTERIS X clandonensis 'Kew Blue'

Beautiful hybrid of Caryopteris clandonensis, a small perennial and deciduous bush, with a rapid growth and a thick and regular habit: at the maximum of its development, it can grow up to 1 m tall and large. Woody and branched from the base, it has numerous stems, thin and rigid, with an erect trend that growing in every direction give the plant a compact and hemispherical shape. The leaves, small and opposite, are lanceolate with acute apex and margins with sporadic scallops, slightly tomentose, gray-green and slightly aromatic. Between the end of summer and autumn, in the terminal parts of the branches and in the axillary region of the leaves, showy inflorescences appear, briefly pedunculated and hemispherical, made up of tiny tubular flowers of an intense blue color, often visited by bees and insects in general.

It prefers sunny positions or at most partial shade; it adapts to any type of soil, provided it is well-drained. It tolerates both the typical salinity of the sea winds of the coastal areas and prolonged periods of drought. It bears minimum winter temperatures of several degrees below zero and therefore is well suited to regions characterized by intense and lasting cold. Between the end of winter and the beginning of spring we can intervene to eliminate dry, broken, old or cluttered parts: on this occasion we can shorten the various stems to the level of 2-3 buds in order to allow a new dense growth and harmonious and intensify the subsequent flowering. Beautiful in medium sized pots and containers on terraces and balconies, in the ground it is perfect both as a free and isolated spot in any corner of our garden and to create, with a sequence of various specimens, an undoubtedly unusual low border.