Plumbago

(Plumbago auriculata)

With a plumbago in your garden, you’ll be assured of an abundance of gorgeous blue blooms for months on end. Plumbago flowers range from powder-blue to a deeper blue. If the shrub is not in flower when you buy it, check with your nursery to make sure it’s the specific colour you want.

This indigenous plant does well in almost any type of soil and can be used as a large shrub or hedge plant. It needs little water once it is established and will bear flowers all summer long. Cut back hard in winter to keep it in check; a lack of pruning will result in a rampant, untidy shrub. Plumbago is not a good cut flower; rather leave the blooms on the shrub and enjoy its showy display outdoors.