Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeard

Light Needs

Full Sun

(6+ Hours Direct Sun)

Mature Height

2-3 Feet

Mature Spread

3-4 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 8

Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeard Shrub, Caryopteris Clandonensis ‘Sapphire Surf™’, or Sapphire Surf™ Blue Mist Spiraea, is a beautiful, pastoral shrub with blue-shades of flower clusters in late summer and early fall. The dark-green, lanced leaves, which have a lovely, light fragrance, form a 2 to 3 foot mound of dense foliage that provide interesting, colorful contrast to the late-season blossoms. You can enjoy the vivid colors and delicious aroma of your Sapphire Surf™ until the first frost. The Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeard Shrub is a low-maintenance deciduous shrub that is valued by growers worldwide for its late fall flowers, when fewer plants are in bloom. 

Sapphire Surf™ attracts bees and butterflies, because of the numerous blooms on floaty, ethereal stems. Deer and rabbits avoid this shrub’s powdery leaves, which results in healthy, robust plants. Bluebeard can be grouped together as a low-growing border for your rustic garden, or as a beautiful blue accent along sunny walkways. They are low-maintenance, pest resistant, grow well in containers, and mound easily.

Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeard Care

This gorgeous shrub is drought tolerant, and should be watered regularly. Once established, these shrubs don’t require much maintenance. Sapphire Surf™s prefer neutral to acidic soil, but can tolerate poorer soils. It should be planted in areas with full sun. If planted in dappled shade, the Sapphire Surf™ will not flower as well. It is not a heavy feeder, so a side dressing of compost is better than chemical fertilizer. 

Prune your Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeards hard after flowering. They should be cut back to at least half, as late winter cutbacks will pave the way for flowering new growth in the next season. You can cut the branches from 12 to 18 inches without damaging the plant, so don’t hesitate if it needs a good trimming. Dead branches can be pruned in the early spring as well, especially in colder areas.

Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeard Spacing

Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeard Shrubs can be grown as a single plant or in groups. They should be planted 20 to 36 inches apart from the center. It’s gorgeous as an eye-catching groundcover or low hedge. They grow well in raised planters and containers with good drainage and they group beautifully with bushy herbs and perennials.

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