(AKA Dwarf Plumbago, Leadwort, Chinese Leadwort, Blue Ceratostigma)

Winter dormant, semi-evergreen. Foliage emerges burgundy, later turning to green. Leaves are 1 1/2" long, 3/4" wide. Blooms mid-Summer to Fall. Blooms blue in clusters at end of stems. Needs well drained soil.

C. plumbaginoides ia a woody-based perennial that makes a wonderful ground cover, underplanting for spring bulbs (foliage emerges late as the bulb foliage is dying back), or planter box filler. May be used in rock gardens or border fronts with careful monitoring of spread. Slowly weaves itself into the garden fabric, creating large drifts of fall color.

In late summer or early fall, this plant bears terminal, spike-like, brilliant blue flowers. Leaves also become tinged with red during the fall. As durable and long-lived as the big three (English Ivy, Pachysandra, Vinca), Ceratostigma is often judged superior except for its lack of zone-dependent "evergreen-ness".

Plants can be lifted, divided and replanted in the spring just before the new shoots appear. Their cream-colored roots have tell-tale rings around them, making them easy to spot. Cuttings may be taken in the summer, but the plants resist being moved from mid-summer on.

Mulch in colder areas. Resists deer, controls erosion. Moderate to fast growth rate. Wide range of soil tolerance except for wet, poorly-drained ones. Good to excellent weed suppressive rating. Mature height 6"-10", spacing 8-12 in.

Ceratostigma is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 1-9 cm long, usually with a hairy margin. Some of the species are evergreen, others deciduous. The flowers are produced in a compact inflorescence, each flower with a five-lobed corolla; flower color varies from pale to dark blue to red-purple. The fruit is a small bristly capsule containing a single seed.

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