Blue Flowering Shrubs: 17 Stunning Bushes to Add Color to Your Garden
Explore serene blue blooms and garden accents tailored to every climate and style.
Blue Flowering Shrubs: 17 Stunning Bushes for Your Garden
Are you dreaming of a garden filled with cool blue blossoms and tranquil hues? While many gardeners think of hydrangeas as the go-to blue flowering shrub, there’s a vast array of other striking bushes that offer vibrant blue blooms. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover 17 exceptional blue flowering shrubs—each with unique features, care requirements, and landscaping benefits. Whether you want a ground-covering sprawl, a formal hedge, or pollinator-friendly accents, there’s a blue-flowered bush for every garden.
Why Choose Blue Flowering Shrubs?
Blue is one of the rarest flower colors in nature, making blue-flowering shrubs especially prized in ornamental gardens. Incorporating blue shrubs can:
- Create a calming garden atmosphere
- Complement yellow, pink, and white blooms
- Attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds
- Add seasonal variety and visual depth to your landscape
17 Blue Flowering Shrubs for Every Garden
Below, you’ll find profiles of the most captivating blue-flowered shrubs, including their ideal growing conditions, appearance, and maintenance tips.
1. Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nikko Blue’ and other cultivars)
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Origin: Japan, East Asia
Size: 3–6 feet tall & wide
Sun: Morning sun, afternoon shade
Zone: 5–9
Hydrangeas are iconic for their lush, globe-shaped clusters of blue, pink, or purple flowers. The popular ‘Nikko Blue’ mophead variety offers vibrant true-blue blooms in acidic soil. Adjusting your soil pH below 6.0 promotes blue shades. Hydrangeas thrive in moist, well-draining soil and benefit from mulch to conserve moisture.
- Classic cottage garden look
- Excellent cut or dried flowers
- Blooms from early summer into fall
2. Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata)
Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
Origin: South Africa
Size: Up to 20 feet long (with support or as groundcover)
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 8–11
Blue Plumbago is a sprawling, vine-like shrub with pale blue, five-petaled blooms that appear in clusters. It offers a lengthy blooming period, often flowering nearly year-round in warm climates. Ideal as a border, groundcover, or trained up a trellis, plumbago requires ample space and regular pruning to keep its rambling shoots in check.
- Fast-growing and low-maintenance
- Attracts pollinators
- Can be grown as a container plant in cooler zones
3. Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Origin: China
Size: 6–12 feet tall
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 5–9
Often called “Summer Lilac,” the butterfly bush produces long, cone-shaped flower spikes in blue, purple, pink, or white. Blue cultivars like ‘Blue Chip’ and ‘Adonis Blue’ are especially striking. These hardy shrubs bloom continuously from mid-summer to frost and are magnets for butterflies and bees.
- Deer resistant
- Drought tolerant once established
- Prune annually to encourage fresh growth and abundant blooms
4. Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis)
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Origin: Hybrid, Eurasia
Size: 2–4 feet tall
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 5–9
Bluebeard produces airy clusters of electric blue flowers on silvery-green foliage from late summer into fall. Its compact form makes it perfect for borders and pollinator gardens.
- Low maintenance and drought tolerant
- Attracts bees and butterflies
5. Blue Mist Shrub (Caryopteris incana)
Plant Type: Deciduous subshrub
Origin: East Asia
Size: 2–3 feet tall
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 5–9
This small blue flowering shrub is valued for its fragrant blue flower clusters, which appear from late summer through fall. Blue mist shrub is an easy-care choice for pollinator gardens and mixed borders.
6. Blue Potentilla (Dasiphora fruticosa ‘Blue’)
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Origin: Northern Hemisphere
Size: 2–4 feet tall
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 3–7
While most potentilla blooms are yellow or white, some cultivars offer silvery blue foliage and soft blue-tinged flowers. Blue potentilla is hardy, drought-tolerant, and very adaptable, making it an excellent choice for challenging sites.
7. Blue Hibiscus (Alyogyne huegelii)
Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
Origin: Australia
Size: 6–10 feet tall
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 9–11
The blue hibiscus features large, showy, blue-violet flowers resembling true hibiscus. Though tender in cooler climates, it’s a dramatic focal point in warm, sheltered spots and coastal gardens.
- Prefers well-drained soil
- Blooms spring through autumn
8. Blue Lilac (Ceanothus spp.)
Plant Type: Evergreen or deciduous shrub
Origin: North America
Size: 3–15 feet tall (varies by species)
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 8–10 (some species hardier)
Known as California lilacs, Ceanothus species display vivid blue clusters in spring. They’re renowned for drought tolerance, rapid growth, and their ability to thrive in poor soils.
- Excellent for wildlife gardens
- Requires minimal irrigation
9. Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea ‘Blue Victoria’)
Plant Type: Perennial (grown as annual in cooler climates)
Origin: Texas, New Mexico
Size: 1.5–2 feet tall
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 8–10 (annual elsewhere)
Blue sage, or mealy cup sage, offers spikes of violet-blue blooms from summer until frost. The compact ‘Blue Victoria’ variety is prized for mass plantings, containers, or as a border edge. It’s drought and heat tolerant once established, making it a robust landscape choice.
Attributes: Attracts pollinators, deer resistant, cut flower potential
10. Blue Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Plant Type: Perennial shrub
Origin: Mediterranean
Size: 1–3 feet tall
Sun: Full sun
Zone: 5–9
While lavender is often thought of as purple, many varieties lean toward true blue. The fragrant spikes serve as iconic garden border plants and attract pollinators throughout the summer.
- Thrives in dry, well-drained soils
- Excellent for sensory and herb gardens
11. Blue Spirea (Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’)
This dwarf shrub offers long-lasting blue blooms from summer into fall. It prefers sunny, well-drained beds and is ideal for attracting bees and butterflies.
12. Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)
A compact perennial with ruffled, azure blue blooms in late spring and early summer. Its silvery foliage makes it a striking addition to mixed borders and native plantings.
13. Blue Myrtle (Myrtus communis ‘Blue Danube’)
This evergreen shrub is grown for its aromatic, blue-green foliage and small blue flowers followed by blue berries. It is drought-tolerant and well-suited for Mediterranean gardens.
14. Blue Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea)
Plant Type: Perennial
Origin: North America
Size: 1–2 feet tall
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Zone: 3–10
The Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine boasts delicate, blue and white, spurred blossoms and feathery blue-green foliage. This shade-tolerant, deer-resistant shrub thrives in cottage gardens and wildflower borders. It is beloved by hummingbirds and pollinators, providing color in late spring to early summer.
15. Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
This native North American perennial shrub produces fluffy masses of soft blue flowers that attract butterflies and bees in late summer and fall. It prefers moist soil and partial shade, making it perfect for woodland edges and rain gardens.
16. Blue Stokes’ Aster (Stokesia laevis)
A compact, evergreen perennial forming mounds of grassy foliage and showy blue aster flowers in mid to late summer. Ideal for borders, pollinator gardens, and as a cut flower.
17. Nepal Himalayan Indigo (Indigofera heterantha)
This hardy, open shrub produces arching clusters of blue and purple pea-like flowers from mid-spring through summer. It is tolerant of drought and poor soils, making it a great addition to low-maintenance gardens.
How to Grow and Care for Blue Flowering Shrubs
While each shrub has unique preferences, most blue flowering shrubs benefit from:
- Soil: Well-draining soil is critical. Amending with compost improves fertility and moisture retention.
- Watering: New plantings need regular watering. Most established shrubs are moderately drought-tolerant.
- Pruning: Prune after bloom to maintain shape and encourage new growth, but timing varies by species.
- Mulching: A layer of mulch helps retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.
- Feeding: Most blue-flowering shrubs thrive with an annual application of balanced fertilizer in spring.
- pH: Hydrangeas require acidic soil (pH < 6.0) for blue flowers, while others are less particular.
Best Uses for Blue Flowering Shrubs in the Garden
- Foundation plantings to anchor home landscapes
- Mixed borders for layered color and season-long interest
- Pollinator gardens to support bees and butterflies
- Accent specimens for focal points or containers
- Groundcovers and hedges for erosion control and privacy
Tips for Achieving the Best Blue Blooms
- Test your soil pH and adjust as needed for true blue hydrangeas.
- Choose cultivars bred specifically for blue coloration.
- Provide full sun for most blue shrubs, though a few tolerate part shade.
- Protect tender shrubs from severe winter cold by mulching or growing in pots to move indoors.
- Prune at the right time — after flowering for spring bloomers, and late winter for summer bloomers.
Comparison Table: Blue Flowering Shrub Quick Reference
| Shrub Name | Height | Zones | Sun Exposure | Bloom Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrangea | 3–6 ft | 5–9 | Part Sun | Summer–Fall |
| Blue Plumbago | Up to 20 ft | 8–11 | Full Sun | Year-round |
| Butterfly Bush | 6–12 ft | 5–9 | Full Sun | Summer–Frost |
| Bluebeard | 2–4 ft | 5–9 | Full Sun | Late Summer–Fall |
| Blue Sage | 1.5–2 ft | 8–10 | Full Sun | Summer–Frost |
| Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine | 1–2 ft | 3–10 | Full Sun–Part Shade | Spring–Early Summer |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Which blue flowering shrub blooms all year long?
A: Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) often blooms year-round in mild climates, making it a go-to for continuous blue color.
Q: How can I ensure my hydrangea shrubs stay blue?
A: To keep hydrangea flowers blue, maintain acidic soil (below pH 6.0). Using soil amendments like aluminum sulfate can help achieve and maintain the right conditions.
Q: Are there any blue flowering shrubs that are deer resistant?
A: Yes, several blue-flowering shrubs are deer-resistant, including Salvia (Blue Sage), Bluebeard (Caryopteris), and Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine.
Q: Which blue flowering shrubs attract pollinators?
A: Many blue flowering shrubs, such as Butterfly Bush, Blue Sage, Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine, and Blue Mistflower, are excellent for attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Q: Can I plant blue flowering shrubs in containers?
A: Absolutely! Compact varieties like Bluebeard, dwarf hydrangeas, and Blue Victoria Salvia thrive in large containers, provided they receive enough light and regular moisture.
Conclusion
With such a wide selection of blue flowering shrubs to choose from, you can easily find options to brighten shady nooks, act as vibrant borders, or provide season-long color in containers and beds. Whether you favor the classic beauty of hydrangeas or the persistent blooms of plumbago, incorporating blue-flowered bushes adds a refreshing dimension to your landscape and supports local wildlife. As you plan, consider your climate, soil, and sunlight, and soon you’ll be rewarded with a garden bursting with cool, calming blue blossoms.
References
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