willow leaf blue star

Amsonia tabernaemontana var. salicifolia has light blue, star-shaped flowers that grow in clusters at the ends of the stems for almost a month in spring, just as the light green leaves are emerging.

The most common Amsonia to be found in the United States in nature, willow leaf blue star is a clump-forming perennial that grows masses of three-foot by three-foot vase-shaped mounds that fill in to look almost shrub-like by summer. Later in the year, the thin, willow-like foliage matures to a deep green, fading to a beautiful light yellow in the fall. Willow leaf blue star is unpalatable to insect pests and foraging herbivores like deer and rabbits. Ruby-throated hummingbirds, large carpenter bees, hummingbird moths and butterflies seek the floral nectar.