Blue Mist Flower (Conoclinium coelestinum)

Late summer flowering, North American perennial
Description: Deep blue, mist-like flowers in late summer and autumn; attractive burgundy stems
Habit: Plants grow to 3 feet high and 4-5 feet wide; spreads by underground runners
Culture: Prefers full sun to light shade and moist, rich loam; pinch back in early summer for a bushier plant
Hardiness: Cold hard to USDA Zone 5
Origin: North America
Attributes: Attracts bees and butterflies

This handsome North American member of the Aster family occurs naturally in low moist ground, moist wooded slopes, savannahs, and along streams from New Jersey to Minnesota and the West Indies. The species is listed in the British Botanical Magazine in 1730 and appears in Philadelphia nurseryman John Bartram's broadside catalogue in 1793. Also known as Hardy Ageratum, this species resembles the cultivated annual Ageratum houstonianum, from Mexico. In 1851, New England garden writer Joseph Breck called it "the 'most beautiful' Eupatorium". It's late-season blooms attract bees and swallowtail butterflies.

Blue Mist Flower (Conoclinium coelestinum) arrives in a 1 quart pot.