Blue bugloss

It's tough to find a perennial with truer blue flowers than bugloss. A beautiful plant with a less-than-beautiful name, bugloss can be short-lived but readily reseeds as long as you refrain from deadheading for a while after it blooms. However, deadheading will prolong blooms, so you'll have a choice to make.

By late summer, the coarse, hairy leaves often look tired and tattered, so cut them back hard after bloom to reinvigorate plants.

Light:

Sun

Zones:

3-8

Plant Type:

Perennial

Plant Height:

1-3 feet tall

Plant Width:

1-2 feet wide

Flower Color:

Blue flowers in clusters atop coarse foliage

Bloom Time:

Blooms late spring to early summer

Landscape Uses:

Containers,Beds & Borders

Special Features:

Flowers,Drought Tolerant,Deer Resistant

Top Varieties

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Alkanet

Anchusa officinalis, sometimes also called common bugloss, is considered a noxious weed in some regions of the West. It prefers dry, sandy soil. Remove faded flower stalks to prevent the plant from spreading by seed. Zones 4-8
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Anchusa azurea

Anchusa azurea is a coarse-textured plant with forget-me-not-like blue flowers in late spring to early summer. The 3-foot-tall plants require excellent drainage to prevent them from rotting over winter. Promptly deadhead flower stalks after bloom to prevent self-seeding. Zones 3-8
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Plant It With

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Hyssop

The airy bluish-green foliage of hummingbird mint agastache contrasts beautifully with the coarse leaves of blue bugloss. As the flowers of bugloss begin to fade, agastache begins its bloom cycle.

Black-eyed Susan

Sunny yellow mounds of black-eyed Susan partner well with blue bugloss. As bugloss plants fade in summer heat, the black-eyed Susans will take over with their showstopping daisylike flowers.

Propagation

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Seed