Anyone know this plant? I've got 2 in my garden so I must have planted them, but I have no idea what they are.

Vanessa D
by Vanessa D
zone 7a perennial
full plant, about 24" tall or so.
close up of flower
  34 answers
  • Nicole Y Nicole Y on Jun 11, 2012
    the leaves and flower resemble a butterfly bush...there are so many different types...not sure though
  • John S John S on Jun 11, 2012
    It looks like Blue Beard but it is more of a bush than a plant and blooms late summer.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Jun 12, 2012
    I agree with John that it looks like you have a type of Caryopteris, or bluebeard.
  • Sandra R Sandra R on Jun 12, 2012
    I have this but mine doesn't bloom till fall. It's a Longwood Blue Caryopteries,Caryopteris, x clandortenis 'Longwood Blue'. It is a perennial, full sun, 3 ft. high, 3 ft. wide.
  • Melinda E Melinda E on Jun 12, 2012
    I have this plant but do not know the name. Have divided it several times and replanted in various spots. Grows well in sun or shade, we have heavy clay soit and it does well. Not evasive, slow spreading. Mine starts blooming in late Spring and continues through Summer.
  • Erica Glasener Erica Glasener on Jun 12, 2012
    Vanessa you have your answer, it is a Caryopteris (bluebeard) but there are a number of diffferent selections. Enjoy. One of the things I like about this plant is the foliage is fragrant when you run your hand over it. I recommend full sun.
  • Vanessa D Vanessa D on May 16, 2013
    Oops, I thought I'd posted thanks on this already. Sorry about that and thank you for your answers, everyone! :)
  • Cami Cami on May 31, 2014
    it looks like spiderwort
  • Nancy F Nancy F on Jun 12, 2014
    I believe it is caryopteris "Blue Mist"
  • Diana Kiley Diana Kiley on Jun 16, 2014
    It is Blue Mist caryopteris. I did not plant one (God did via a bird perhaps) but one appeared in my xeric garden and the bees love it
  • Dorothy Dorothy on Jun 29, 2014
    Yep, Blue Mist caryopteris. There is a variety with variegated leaves and I think there's one with darker blue flowers. The bees love it. I pruned mine rather heavily in the spring and then again in early to mid summer and it stayed very bushy and compact and was nearly covered with flowers....and bees. The hummingbirds showed up a lot too.
  • Robin Sweetman Robin Sweetman on Jul 01, 2014
    Bee Balm is what we call it in Ohio.
  • Mary Smith Mary Smith on Jul 25, 2014
    We call it widows tears here in Missouri! Will divide very easily and blooms a long time than I clip the seeds off and leave them on the ground with them for next year Hope this helps
  • Robin Dowden Robin Dowden on Jul 27, 2014
    I don't know the name but I get hem every year. at first I thought it was a weed so I pulled out a lot. the next year they came back a hundred fold, I left them alone and beautiful violet flowers appeared. no more pulling but I also would like to know the name.
  • Linda Wingert-Turiak Linda Wingert-Turiak on Jul 28, 2014
    Heard of it as both Blue Beard and Bee Balm. While it has really pretty fragrant purple flowers and the butterflies and bees love it (all good things), the seeds fall off and get into everything. It creates a lot of weeding.
    • Barb Barb on Aug 30, 2014
      I don't think this is Bluebeard. That is more of a shrub.
  • Karen V Karen V on Jul 31, 2014
    Oh I learned something new, I've been pulling mine out, thinking it was just a weed trying to take over my flower bed.
  • Rudy Chan Rudy Chan on Aug 01, 2014
    looks like butterfly bush to me...
  • Victoria Victoria on Aug 02, 2014
    i have it to! it is called blue beard although it is purple...
  • Nanny Nanny on Aug 02, 2014
    It is definitely not Blue beard. Looks like an invasive perenial to me. Never seen it in the northwest.
  • PattyQ PattyQ on Aug 03, 2014
    Butterflyweed is orange in Tennessee
  • Dorothy Dorothy on Aug 04, 2014
    Butterfly bush or butterfly weed? Butterfly weed (asclepias) is orange, is a domesticated (and some wild) form of the perennial milkweed that is important food for Monarch butterflies, stands about 14 to maybe 18 inches tall and has bright green leaves. Butterfly bush (buddleia) is a shrub and comes in blue, wine, white and pink colors and there's a variety that has flowers that age to an orangey color all with a dusty grayish green leaf with the flowers in spikes at the end of the twig/branch. The plant in the photo is a shrub known as caryopteris (also called blue beard and occasionally as blue spirea) with a number of named varieties, almost all of them blooming in tones of blue at the base of leaf whorls.
  • Deborah Donovan-Navarro Deborah Donovan-Navarro on Aug 31, 2014
    It is definitely Caryopteris (commonly called Blue Spirea).
  • Alyce Wilson Alyce Wilson on Sep 01, 2014
    Alyce-Clear Lake, Iowa its a butterfly bush. I have one that is white and a purple one. They are beautiful, except there is less butterflies that are around this year..
  • Kathleen M Kathleen M on Sep 01, 2014
    I have one in bloom in my front yard it is a shrubby plant, it is called a Blue Mist Spirea and yes bees absolutely adore it. Here at the New Jersey Shore our winters can be cold and windy which they do not like but I have managed to keep this one with a real good pruning in early spring like a butterfly bush. http://www.mlive.com/grand-haven/index.ssf/2010/12/garden_gals_pam_cater_audrey_e.html
  • Kathleen M Kathleen M on Sep 01, 2014
    @Vanessa D here is a photo of mine ~> :) bees feasting ...Monarchs like it too but I have not seen one yet this season :(
  • Diana R Diana R on Sep 01, 2014
    Diana R Monroe, NC This is called a Blue Mist Shrub (caryopteris). I had them and they are a very easy shrub to grow. LOVE them !!
    • Linda T Linda T on Nov 06, 2014
      @Diana R Google said you are right, it's 'Caryopteris', common name 'blue beard', 'blue mist', so many of you were right. Those who said butterfly bush, were wrong and should look again. Google 'Buddlija'. The flowers are about 4" tall and at the tips of the branches of bushes, sometimes small trees.
  • Emma Santoro-Adkison Emma Santoro-Adkison on Nov 09, 2014
    Not a butterfly bush. They are tall Definitely not ground cove.
  • Duv310660 Duv310660 on Nov 10, 2014
    I would always side with a proper botanical name, as common names vary quite a lot from region to region.
  • Cherie Kessel Fisher Cherie Kessel Fisher on Jan 04, 2015
    Caryopteris, also known as bluebeard, the variety name is probably Blue Mist.
  • Vickie Vickie on Jan 05, 2015
    It's a blue mist. I got some from a plant magazine. They didn't do very well because I had them in a slightly shady area. I moved them but they didn't make it. My fault :(
  • Terrie Neudorf Terrie Neudorf on Jan 24, 2015
    Where I am these are a noctious weed , not a shrub or ground cover .
  • Caryopteris for sure. Bees love them.
  • Sue Moman Bowen Sue Moman Bowen on Feb 21, 2015
    It looks like one I have that they call Spiderwick. I adore it! I use this website alot for plant identification. You might try it. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/namegal/
  • Michelle Michelle on Apr 11, 2015
    butterfly bush