Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Lissteph' STEPHI

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. Still, every rule has its exception, and here we have an example of a bluebeard which is all but blue.

STEPHI is a unique bluebeard variety with flowers that are not blue. They are pale pink to almost white on a clear sunny day. All other features are identical to most other caryopteris varieties. It is a deciduous shrub with fragrant leaves that are medium green, narrowly lanceolate, shallowly notched at margins, and releasing a pleasantly spicy scent when touched. The plant grows fast into a dense, well-branched, upright shrub with slightly arching side branches. It is rather compact yet it retains its airy feeling ideal for summer borders and thanks to the pale flower colour, it is perfectly suited to be a companion plant for butterfly bushes, indigo, hardy plumbago, chaste tree and other summer-blooming shrubs and perennials. STEPHI was bred by Peter Catt from the Liss Forest Nursery close to London, England, and is protected by European patent No. EU 46805.

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 04-10-2023