Do make sure that the Caryopteris clandonensis root ball is soaked well prior to planting. Dig a wide hole and loosen the soil with a fork. Plant your Bluebeard at the correct depth - the top of the root ball should come to just below soil level. Fill the hole with soil, heel well in and water immediately. Bluebeard will thrive in a permeable, fertile soil in the garden. Plant the bush in a sunny spot.

Bluebeard and other plants

Bluebeard will thrive in a sunny spot in fairly dry soil. Will look lovely in a sunny border together with other late summer and autumn flowering plants like butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and dahlias. Bluebeard is also a great plant for a large planter on the patio or decking - perhaps together with a deliciously scented jasmine (Jasminium officinale).
 

Cut all young Caryopteris twigs hard back in the spring. Bluebeards can suffer from frost damage, during a severe frost protect your Caryopteris with a mulch of leaf litter, or straw. The bush soon regrows from the roots. Because the beard flower flowers on year-old wood, after a spring pruning it will still flower that year. Dead twigs and branches should be cut out entirely in the spring.
A too marshy position will not be tolerated, especially in the winter. If you are growing your Caryopteris clandonensis in a pretty planter you must ensure good drainage at all times.
 
 
 

These flowers attract lots of insects which is why bluebeard is a must for growing in a natural garden. The flowers rather resemble the better known spirea and is sometimes actually called blue spirea.