Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Elst33' BLUE EMPIRE

Bluebeard is a small deciduous shrub for lovers of blue flowering plants. Its late summer and autumn flowers make it an ideal companion plant for perennial borders as it looks stunning situated close to black-eyed Susan, pink or white anemones, and even evergreen leucothoes whose leaves start to turn read when bluebeard’s blooming is at its peak.BLUE EMPIRE was found as a chance seedling in a production field of First Choice bluebeard by Fransiscus Johannes Christiaan Elst in 2011. It is protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights patent No. 43537 granted in 2016.

BLUE EMPIRE is a stunning bluebeard variety with large flowers and leaves, and non-dwarf habit. Its flowers are considerably larger than on other varieties known so far, they are rich violet blue and come out in profusion from late August until early October. Deciduous leaves are larger, too, broadly lance-shaped to narrowly oval, dark green with silvery-grey hues, and very fragrant. BLUE EMPIRE grows fast into a compact, dense shrub over one meter tall and wide, and enriches late summer borders with a sought-after blue colour, especially if combined with orange, golden or yellow flowers.

Bluebeard is soil tolerant, however, it does best in fertile, very well-drained soil in full sun. It needs to be pruned hard every spring – cut off two thirds of previous year’s growth to encourage prolific branching that will secure even more profuse flowering. It is fully hardy to min. -25 °C, in free-draining soil even to -27 °C (USDA zone 5b). In zones 4 and 5a it acts like a perennial.

Last update 11-10-2021