backyardgardener.com
16.02.2024
Oxypetalum caeruleum – A Good Blue Tender Perennial
The ultimate height of Oxypetalum – my garden, at least-is from a foot and a half to two feet. Although described as of trailing or twining habit, my plants have grown upright, with neat stiff stems that need no support. When broken, they exude the milky juice characteristic of the family, and the long pointed seed pods, filled with silken down, are also typical. The foliage is soft grayish-green and of velvety texture. The flowers are star-shaped, an inch or more across, growing in flat clusters over the top of the plant. They last for several days, even under the hottest sun, and are the only flowers I have ever seen which can be truthfully and accurately described as of the purest turquoise blue. This exquisite color is retained until just before the blossoms fade when they change to a pretty mauve.