Making up less than 10% of the flowering plant kingdom, plants with blue blooms are a rarity, but you still have many options. This elite color group includes a wide range in shades ranging from sky blue to deep indigo and growth habits from groundcovers to large shrubs. And if you plan carefully, your garden will be singing the blues from early spring through late fall.
Let’s Dance Blue Jangles Hydrangea, Bigleaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea Arborescens, Blue Flower Proven Winners Sycamore, IL
Photo by: Proven Winners.
HYDRANGEA
Let’s Dance® Rhythmic Blue® Hydrangea — Buy now from Proven Winners
Hydrangea macrophylla
This reblooming hydrangea produces huge mophead flowers all summer, without pruning. It also performs well in colder climates. For the best blue, keep your soil acidic and treat with aluminum sulfate.
Plant Type / Zones: Shrub, Zones 5-9 Size: 3 to 4 feet tall and wide Bloom time: Midsummer to early fall
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Rockin Playin The Blues Salvia, Salvia Hybrid, Blue Salvia Proven Winners
Sycamore, IL
SALVIA
When the flowers finish blooming, the color continues because the calyxes retain their deep-blue hue long after the flowers fade. Even better, new flower spikes continue to emerge all summer long.
Plant Type / Zones: Perennial in Zones 7-10; usually grown as an annual Size: 2 to 4 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide Bloom time: Planting until frost
Little Galaxy Agapanthus, Agapanthus Plant Proven Winners Sycamore, IL
LILY OF THE NILE Little Galaxy Lily of the Nile — Buy now from Proven Winners Agapanthus hybrid
This more compact, blue-flowered wonder produces huge, globe-like flower clusters held high above clumps of narrow leaves. The seedpods that follow are almost as attractive as the flowers.
Plant Type / Zone: Perennial, Zones 6-11 Size: 22 to 26 inches tall and wide Bloom time: July to September
Exposure: Full sun
Blue Chiffon Hibiscus, Blue Flowers, Rose Of Sharon, Hibiscus Syriacus Proven Winners
ROSE OF SHARON Blue Chiffon® Rose of Sharon — Buy now from Proven Winners Hibiscus syriacus
Blue Chiffon gives you lacy blooms from summer to fall on soft, elegant stems. Its flowers attract birds and butterflies and have a delicate, lacy center. Heat and drought tolerant.
Plant Type / Zones: Shrub, Zones 5-9 Size: 8 to 12 feet tall, 4 to 6 feet wide Bloom time: Early to late summer
Blue Cornflower, Centaurea Cyanus, Bachelor’s Buttons American Meadows
CORNFLOWER
Also called “bachelor’s buttons,” this old-fashioned favorite is popular in cutting gardens. The blue color is so distinctive, it has been replicated in a Crayola crayon.
Plant Type: Annual Size: 1 to 3 feet tall, 10 inches wide Bloom time: Peak bloom is early to midsummer, may be prolonged with frequent deadheading.
Exposure: Full to partial sun
Blue My Mind Evolvulus, Dwarf Morning Glory, Blue Flowers Proven Winners
LOBELIA One of the best blue-flowered container plants, producing cascades of tiny soft-blue flowers from spring until the first frost. This heat-tolerant variety is also bred to withstand sultry summer temperatures.
Plant Type / Zones: Perennial in Zones 9-11; usually grown as an annual Size: 6 to 12 inches tall, spreading up to 2 feet Bloom time: Spring until frost
DWARF MORNING GLORY Blue My Mind® Dwarf Morning Glory — Buy now from Proven Winners
Evolvulus hybrid
This non-vining cousin of morning glory produces dainty true-blue blooms from early summer until the first frost, but only spreads no more than 2 feet.
Plant Type / Zones: Perennial in Zones 10-11; usually grown as an annual Size: 6 to 12 inches tall, trails up to 2 feet Bloom time: Planting until frost Exposure: Full sun Blue Suede Shoes Iris, Iris Germanica, Blue Iris Flower