My Corner Online
Amsonia tabernaemontana 'Storm Cloud' | Blue Star, Blue Dogbane, Woodland Bluestar
First Bloom Date:
2021 - Planted
2023 April 13
2024 March 31
Amsonia tabernaemontana ' Storm Cloud' | Blue Star, Blue Dogbane, Woodland Bluestar
Pronounced Am-SO-nee-uh Tab-er-nay-mon-TAY-nuh
Apocynaceae (Dogbane Family) Pronounced Ah-pos-eh-NAY-cee-eye
Dogbane is Greek for dog-away because it was once used as dog poison. Now what!?
The coolest thing about this plant is that it is a Missouri native plant and I want to grow more of them in my garden.
This plant gets 24 to 30 inches high.
The flowers are periwinkle blue which has to be one of my top favorite colors although this is more of a pastel color than a saturated bright color. It is rather a calming color.
The flowers are terminal on the stem and in a pyramidal shape cluster. That is, they are shaped like a pyramid!
I bought this plant in 2021 and did nothing to it in 2022, but at the end of the garden season in 2023 I decided to trim the flower tops off. I am glad I did. I have read that in shadier areas especially to cut back the stems by one-half or one-third after flowering to promote bushy growth and a more rounded mound of green throughout the garden season. The majority of my plants require this and I plan to start this practice now that I know in 2024.
It is written that this plant gets large as it spreads, but so far mine is spreading rather slowly at a similar pace to my Wild Sweet William. Someday I hope to be able to divide it, but right now I am waiting for it to get larger. I am anxious to see it blooming much fuller.
2024
Is it me, or does this flower make you think of “stars in the eyes.” We often think of someone having stars in their eyes when they leave home for the first time off to adventure into the world, hopeful and excited about what is to come, feeling positive that it will be better and more joyful in the future.
That just hit me when I was pondering what to write my newsletter on this page and I think that might just stick in my head! I like it!
This is before the beds bloomed out.
2023
My husband had planted this in 2021 and in 2023 I had no idea what it was because he is so random and controling without purpose. Late in 2023 I had taken my gardens back and was trying to determine what this plant was, so I snapped these few photos on my phone and shared them into a Facebook group and some wonderful people helped me identify it. These people are good!
