Blue Flowering Perennials
Below you will find a list of Perennials from our plant database that are blue flowering. If you click on any of the photos, you will see a Virtual Plant Tag that may contain plant descriptions, usage suggestions and a link to where you can buy that plant for your landscaping.
Flowering Perennials can be grown directly in the ground, in containers for patios and decks or even in hanging baskets. Mixed containers are in vogue, often a blend of annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses and even tropicals to take the urn, window box or decorative planter through the spring, summer, fall until frost. Most of these perennials grow well with average soil moisture and partial or full sun, though some can take full shade giving the home gardener more options for use in the landscape.
Some of the perennials with blue blooms are native plants, which are more naturally insect resistant, salt tolerant and have natural disease resistance. Suggestions for using in the home landscape include Aromatic Aster (Aster oblongifolius); Big Blue Lobelia or Blue Cardinal Flower (L.siphilitica) ,the hardiest False Blue Indigo is Baptisia australis; Blue Milkweed or Arkansas Amsonia (Amsonia hubrichtii) and Blue Star Flower also known as Blue Milkweed (Amsonia tabernaemontana) are both low maintenance; Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is also shade tolerant; Crested Iris (Iris cristata) is great for natural, woodland plantings; Hardy Ageratum (Eupatorium coelestinum) adds much needed fall blue color; a native Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium reptans) is nice all season; Michaelmas or New York Aster (Aster novi-belgii) provides excellent late summer and Autumn color; where New England Asters' (Aster novae-angliae) many cultivars have larger flowers; Rocky Mountain Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea) flower shape is striking; Stokes' Asters in shades of pink, lavender and blue in improved cultivars add texture.
Europe and Asia have given American gardeners thousands of Anemones or Windflowers, Bellflowers, Bethlehem Sage or Lungworts (Pulmonaria), Blue Mist or Blue-Spirea or Bluebeard (Caryopteris), Catmints, Clematis, Cranesbills, Crocus, Delphiniums, Globe Thistles, Goat's Rue, Hyacinths, Iris, Lavenders, Lilac Geraniums, Lily of the Nile or Agapanthus, Monkshood or Wolfsbane, Pansies, Speedwell or Veronicas, Spiderworts (Tradescantia).
Blue flowering plants add serenity to a garden and can even make a hot garden feel a bit cooler with their cool colors. The relaxing blue can be enjoyed throughout the season and blends well with the other cool colors; purples, pinks and white.
Flowering perennials are great at attracting butterflies and birds, particularly hummingbirds.