Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is winter dormant and semi-evergreen. Its foliage emerges burgundy, later turning to green. Leaves are 1 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inches wide. This plant blooms from mid-summer to fall with blue in clusters at the end of its stems. It needs well-drained soil.

C. plumbaginoides is a woody-based perennial that makes a wonderful ground cover. It is useful for planting under spring bulbs (foliage emerges late as the bulb foliage is dying back), or as filler for planter boxes. With careful spread monitoring, it may be used in rock gardens or border fronts. 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 considered superior except for its lack of zone-dependent "evergreen-ness".

In the spring, plants can be lifted, divided, and replanted just before 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 is recommended in colder areas. This plant resists deer, controls erosion, and has a weed-suppressive rating that ranges from good to excellent. Moderate to fast growth rate. Wide range of soil tolerance, but avoid wet, poorly-drained ones.

Ceratostigma is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae: native to the warm, temperate, and tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The (up to 4-inch long) leaves are simple, spirally arranged, and usually sport a hairy margin. Some of the species are evergreen while others are deciduous. The flowers are produced in a compact inflorescence, and each flower has 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.