Arkansas Blue Star: An Amazing Native
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| Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman |
| In spring, star-shaped, light blue flowers adorn this hardy perennial. |
Choosing perennials is serious business – after all, we each have a limited amount of space in our gardens. So we ask a lot from the plants we select: We want long, beautiful displays plus a measure of toughness to ensure we can enjoy carefree outdoor living in our gardens.
Of course, there are lots of plants that measure up to such expectations, but one of my favorites is Arkansas blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii). It meets all these garden requirements with ease, and looks great doing it! This blue star has the durability of the best natives combined with the grace and charm of a refined perennial – and it’s got the bonus of a fantastic floral display from spring through fall! | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman | | In fall, the grassy foliage of Arkansas blue star lights up the garden with amazing golden color! |
This tough perennial grows 3 feet tall from a stout, woody crown. Its graceful branches arch outward and spread up to 4 feet wide on older plants. Pretty, little, star-shaped flowers begin to appear in late April and May in terminal clusters of light blue. The blossoms are about ¾ inches wide, and they hide among the plant’s grasslike foliage. (They later evolve into elongated, cigar-shaped seedpods about the size of a large toothpick.) After flowering, it’s the thin, willowy leaves that take over the show. They’re less than 1/8 inch wide and up to 3 inches long, and they crowd up the stem.
In summertime, Arkansas blue star provides an interesting textural foil for other plants in the garden. (I like this species along a sidewalk or as a specimen in a rock garden, where its sprawling form can really show off.) Then comes fall, and A. hubrichtii begins to put on the finest foliage display among all herbaceous perennials: All those leaves turn gold – and the display lasts upward of three weeks!
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| Warnings |
- Amsonia belongs to the dogbane family, along with Vinca minor and common periwinkle. Like many members of this family, the plant has a milky sap that can contain toxic alkaloids, which have been used medicinally and can be toxic to livestock.
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| Facts |
- Got deer problems? Then Arkansas blue star may be just the perennial for your garden. Deer generally avoid it because the plant’s milky sap is toxic and unappealing.
- If you enjoy native plants, you may be familiar with another blue star, Amsonia tabernaemontana (Eastern blue star). This plant has a much more robust and upright habit than its Arkansas cousin. In fact, my Eastern blue star grew a foot taller and twice as wide after just three years when the beauties were planted side by side in my garden. Alas, Eastern blue star has no fall color and only shines when it’s in bloom.
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