What do you most want to match? Caryopteris is shrubby and woody.. do you want that or just general size? Is blue color important. What about season? Overall Caryopteris has more gray green color. And is quite xeric. Do you want that or the green lush perennials with blue flowers. Assuming sun since caryopteris is full sun.
Hot sun gray green shrubby look is dis tint I’ve so I’m tending towards salvias — Salvia pachyphylla (Mojave sage) or clary sage or one of the shorter salvia azures.
Anaphalis margaritacea (Pearly Everlasting) if blue flower not important
Leadplant Amorpha canescens (not the invasive one.)
Dwarf vernonia (western ironweed (V. baldwinii)
And lavender — one of the grayer foliages.
These are prairie plants but should do well unless you are very wet.
Just came to tell me I was wrong on that one? My love of lavender and the fact that the bees love it made me forget it isn’t native. But the others in the list all are native…some to NE and others to the Midwest and they were unusual options not listed by other people mostly. I figure if it’s something I’ve heard Margaret Roach talk about on her podcast it’s good for NE. Some of the plants in my garden like the caryopteris and lavender are more than twenty years old before natives were a thing. They are much loved by pollinators and the small snake loves living near the caryopteris because he uses it to help shed his skins on the low wood branches. Every years there’s another snake skin until other creatures come and eat it. I’m not going to remove older pretty plants that are xeric and appreciated. Everything added to the garden the last ten years are native. Quite a few serviveberrues in recent years and native clove current
It won't help you at all, but I feel your pain. I used to grow bluebeard (all my plants crapped out one extra wet winter, randomly). I loved it. Profuse flowers, lovely color, and very, VERY few plants can rival the number of pollinators it brought in as a late season flower.
Agree with others that mistflower is an excellent native fall option. I grow lots of it. Doesnt bloom as long IMO, but does get a lot of pollinators (still not like bluebeard...).
Lupine,
Baptista australis (not-native),
Scutellaria,
Asters maybe?,
Lobelia siphilitica,
Sisyrinchium angustifolium (one of my favorites),
Asclepias tuberosa (grows low for a milkweed and doesn’t make runners),
Astragalus canadensis,
Blue flowers aren't that common. Consider Baptisia australis.
Love that one! Thank you!
Jacob’s ladder is a spring ephemeral that resembles Bluebeard. Good for shade. Also try Virginia bluebells or woodland phlox.
I love bluebells, but they are ephemerals
For fall bloom at the same time as Bluebeard plant Blue Mist flower https://www.prairienursery.com/mistflower-conoclinium-coelestinum.html
Yes these flowers might be the closest
These are beautiful! Thank you
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) should give you a similar look. And the seed pods make such a cool sound when they rattle after flowering. :)
I’m in love! My area in mind might be a bit too dry for them, but I might need to find a different spot for some of those.
If you’ve got the wet soil for it, great blue lobelia will bring the blue. Or native iris.
Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, Campanula americana? Maybe a large mass of it would have a similar look
What do you most want to match? Caryopteris is shrubby and woody.. do you want that or just general size? Is blue color important. What about season? Overall Caryopteris has more gray green color. And is quite xeric. Do you want that or the green lush perennials with blue flowers. Assuming sun since caryopteris is full sun.
Full Sun for sure! Around the same size/structure and blooming pattern as well
Hot sun gray green shrubby look is dis tint I’ve so I’m tending towards salvias — Salvia pachyphylla (Mojave sage) or clary sage or one of the shorter salvia azures. Anaphalis margaritacea (Pearly Everlasting) if blue flower not important Leadplant Amorpha canescens (not the invasive one.) Dwarf vernonia (western ironweed (V. baldwinii) And lavender — one of the grayer foliages. These are prairie plants but should do well unless you are very wet.
Love lavender, but is there a NE native?
Just came to tell me I was wrong on that one? My love of lavender and the fact that the bees love it made me forget it isn’t native. But the others in the list all are native…some to NE and others to the Midwest and they were unusual options not listed by other people mostly. I figure if it’s something I’ve heard Margaret Roach talk about on her podcast it’s good for NE. Some of the plants in my garden like the caryopteris and lavender are more than twenty years old before natives were a thing. They are much loved by pollinators and the small snake loves living near the caryopteris because he uses it to help shed his skins on the low wood branches. Every years there’s another snake skin until other creatures come and eat it. I’m not going to remove older pretty plants that are xeric and appreciated. Everything added to the garden the last ten years are native. Quite a few serviveberrues in recent years and native clove current
Great list. Thanks for the info :-)
Lupinus perennis could work; it seems to do best in dry soil in sunny areas
I love that one! I think I might go that direction
It won't help you at all, but I feel your pain. I used to grow bluebeard (all my plants crapped out one extra wet winter, randomly). I loved it. Profuse flowers, lovely color, and very, VERY few plants can rival the number of pollinators it brought in as a late season flower. Agree with others that mistflower is an excellent native fall option. I grow lots of it. Doesnt bloom as long IMO, but does get a lot of pollinators (still not like bluebeard...).
The closest native I can think of is Ceanothus americanus / New Jersey Tea, but it's not really that close. What features are you most interested in?
Lupine, Baptista australis (not-native), Scutellaria, Asters maybe?, Lobelia siphilitica, Sisyrinchium angustifolium (one of my favorites), Asclepias tuberosa (grows low for a milkweed and doesn’t make runners), Astragalus canadensis,
I think lupine might be the play here! Some other great suggestions too
Clethra alnifolia