Corydalis 'CRAIGTON BLUE'

Perhaps no other colour attracts so much attention like blue. Reason being that blue pigment used to be rare and expensive, and in some cultures the wealth of a family would be assessed by the number of blue ornaments and objects in the house. Its natural sources were indigo (plant) and various minerals, especially lapis azuli. Cobalt salt was another one and the method to achieve it was known already to ancient Romans and Egyptians, yet its real fame came from old China when during the reign of the Tang Dynasty (7th - 10th century) cobalt blue was frequently used on several types of wares, especially their true transparent porcelain which still today is a sought-after collectible. When it comes to plants, we all know that true blue flowers are in minority, so we are thankful for each of them which shows some blue tint. Such as corydalis whose flowers come in several shades ranging from sky blue, brilliant blue, to cobalt blue.

Blue corydalis is a beautiful and still quite rare perennial producing unique, narrowly tubular, blue flowers. Craigton Blue is a fantastic variety bred by Ian Young from Aberdeen, a Scottish horticulturist, photographer, artist, and lecturer of over forty years of experience. He named it in honor of one of the oldest Scottish families (clans) called Craigton (or Craighton, or even Crichton), in whose coat of arms there are only 2 colors – silver gray and brilliant blue. Just ignore the tiny green dragon above with red flames coming out of its mouth...

Craigton Blue is a cross between c. flexuosa and c. elata, which, unlike its first parent, is very durable and reliable. Its leaves are bright green above, glaucous on the reverse, deeply incised, 3-ternate. They are quite similar to those of columbines. They appear up along the stems almost to the point where erect racemes of flower buds are formed. Individual flowers are slender-tubed, bright sky-blue like the Mediterranean sky in summer, only the throat is lighter to almost white. They open from late May and since there are so many of them in one inflorescence, they keep on blooming until early July. The plant is strictly upright and densely branched.
Corydalis is a perennial from the forests of China. It likes partly shaded or shaded but not too dark locations. It will cope with partial or filtered sun if the ground is kept evenly moist and the plant is protected during the hottest hours of the day. It is quite picky about soil type as we need to imitate its natural habitat (woodland margin or a moist semi-shaded meadow): fresh, free-draining but moist, fertile soil, never waterlogged, always cool. Hardy to about -27 °C (USDA zone 5b).

Last update: 18-06-2023