Blue is a peaceful and cooling color that is always a welcomed addition to any garden. Blue flowering plants add striking visual interest and pleasant tranquility. From vibrant cobalt blooms to pastel lavender blossoms, If you are looking to add some blue hues to your garden or landscape, there are many beautiful options to consider. Here are 21 of the best blue flowering plants you can grow.
Overview of Blue Flowering Plants
Blue flowering plants come in a diverse range of flower types, growth habits, and shades of blue. Blue flowers may be different tones of light blue, dark blue, purple-blue, indigo, and more. Popular blue blooms include irises, hydrangeas, lobelias, morning glories, salvias, and numerous others. Some blue flowering plants are annuals with a single-season lifespan, while others are perennials that return year after year. There are blue flowering shrubs, vines, groundcovers, bulbs, and more to incorporate into gardens of all sizes and styles.
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Benefits of Blue Flowers in the Garden
Incorporating blue flowering plants provides many benefits for gardens:
- Adds striking and soothing visual interest with the blue coloring
- Contrasts nicely with warm-colored blooms like reds, oranges, and yellows
- Attracts pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds
- Provides late spring through fall blooms depending on the plant
- Includes options for all light conditions from full sun to shade
- Works well in flower beds, borders, containers, and more
Keep reading for 21 of the most popular and best-performing blue flowering plants to grow.
Best Blue Flowering Plants
Here is the list of Blue Flower Names with blue flowers images:
1. Blue Hydrangea
Botanical Name: Hydrangea macrophylla
Plant Type: Shrub
Bloom Time: Summer
Light Needs: Part sun to shade
The bigleaf blue hydrangea is one of the most popular blue flowering shrubs due to its large, lush flower heads. Varieties like ‘Nikko Blue’ offer deep blue mophead blooms in acid soils. Plant in part sun to light shade locations. Prune after flowering.
2. Blue Iris
Botanical Name: Iris Germanica
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer
Light Needs: Full sun
These classic garden perennials are known for their showy sword-like foliage and spring flowering in shades of blue, purple, and more. Siberian iris and Louisiana iris are two blue-flowering types. Irises grow well in full sun and average garden soil. Divide clumps every 3-4 years.
3. Blue Lobelia
Botanical Name: Lobelia Erinus
Plant Type: Annual
Bloom Time: Summer to frost
Light Needs: Sun to part shade
This petite annual produces loads of tiny blue flowers on mounded plants from summer until frost. Lobelia is an essential component for containers, hanging baskets, flower beds, and garden borders in sun or part shade areas. Deadhead spent blooms to encourage more flowers.
4. Blue Floss Flower
Botanical Name: Ageratum Houstonianum
Plant Type: Annual
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun to part sun
Blue floss flower is prized for its fluffy blue flowers that resemble cotton puffs. The mounded plants bloom continuously from summer until fall frost in beds, borders, and containers. Deadheading encourages more blooms. Grow in full sun or part shade.
5. Blue Ageratum
Botanical Name: Ageratum houstonianum
Plant Type: Annual
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade
Blue ageratum, also called flossflower, is a heat-loving annual that produces dense fluffy blue flowers from summer to fall. Its mounded habit makes it perfect for containers, borders, and mass plantings. Deadhead spent blooms to encourage continuous flowering.
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6. Blue Salvia
Botanical Name: Salvia Farinacea
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun
This popular garden sage offers spikes of blue flowers beginning in early summer and continuing until fall frosts. Grow this drought-tolerant, deer-resistant perennial in full sun and well-drained soil. Cut back after the first flowering flush for continuous blooms.
7. Gentian
Botanical Name: Gentiana
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Late summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun to part shade
Also known as gentian sage, this late season bloomer bears clusters of vivid blue trumpet-shaped flowers. Gentians thrive in organically rich, evenly moist, well-drained soil and full sun to part shade. Amend soil with compost if needed.
8. Bluebells
Botanical Name: Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Plant Type: Bulb
Bloom Time: Spring
Light Needs: Part shade to shade
This spring-blooming bulb erupts with a sea of blue bell-shaped flowers on grasslike foliage. Plant bluebell bulbs in part to full shade areas with organically rich, evenly moist soil. Bluebells complement other shade-loving beauties like hellebores and azaleas.
9. Blue Wonder Flower
Botanical Name: Ipomoea tricolor
Plant Type: Annual vine
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun
The eye-catching blue wonder flower vine wins fans with its large, unique star-shaped blooms in shades of blue to purple. It flowers abundantly in full-sun locations from summer until fall. Use it to add vertical interest to gardens and containers.
10. Chinese Forget-Me-Not
Botanical Name: Cynoglossum amabile
Plant Type: Annual
Bloom Time: Spring to summer
Light Needs: Full sun to part shade
This fast-growing annual produces loose clusters of vibrant blue star-shaped flowers on tall stalks over attractive fuzzy gray-green foliage. It blooms prolifically from spring through summer. Grow in full sun to part shade and average, well-drained soil.
11. Blue Star Creeper
Botanical Name: Pratia pedunculata
Plant Type: Perennial groundcover
Bloom Time: Spring to fall
Light Needs: Part sun to shade
This herbaceous perennial groundcover offers pretty blue star-shaped flowers from spring to fall. Use it as a lawn substitute in part shade or plant between pavers and stepping stones where it can spread. Blue star creeper grows just 2-3 inches tall.
12. Heavenly Bamboo
Botanical Name: Nandina domestica
Plant Type: Shrub
Bloom Time: Late spring to summer
Light Needs: Full sun to part shade
Heavenly bamboo is prized for its reddish-purple foliage that turns bright red in fall. But it also produces airy clusters of small white blooms that mature to blue berry-like fruits. Grow this multi-season interest shrub in organically rich, moist, acidic soil.
13. Blue Daze
Botanical Name: Evolvulus glomeratus
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Spring to fall
Light Needs: Full sun
Blue daze is a low-growing perennial that blooms abundantly with small sky blue flowers from spring to fall frost. It thrives in hot, sunny areas where the 2-4 inch tall plants spread into a beautiful flowering groundcover. Works nicely in rock gardens.
14. Blue Fescue Grass
Botanical Name: Festuca Glauca
Plant Type: Ornamental Grass
Bloom Time: Summer
Light Needs: Full sun
Blue fescue is a clump-forming cool season grass grown more for its foliage than its flowering. Its icy blue blades maintain color all season, with tan plumes appearing in summer. Use it as an edging plant, in rock gardens, or containers. Needs full sun and very well-drained soil.
15. Blue Hosta
Botanical Name: Hosta
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Mid to late summer
Light Needs: Shade to part shade
Many hosta varieties produce blue-tinted heart-shaped leaves that look stunning combined with their fragrant purple blooms in mid to late summer. Some popular blue hostas include ‘Blue Angel,’ ‘Blue Ivory,’ and ‘Blue Mouse Ears.’ Grow hostas in organically rich soil and shade.
16. Blue Plumbago
Botanical Name: Plumbago auriculata
Plant Type: Shrub
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun to part shade
This tender woody shrub flowers abundantly with phlox-like clusters of light blue blooms. It flowers nearly year-round in frost-free climates, taking short breaks in winter. Grow blue plumbago in full sun to part shade and protect it from freezing temperatures.
17. Blue Sage
Botanical Name: Salvia farinacea
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun
Blue sage offers long-lasting color with its 16-20 inch spikes of true blue flowers blooming from early summer until fall. It thrives in hot, sunny locations with well-drained soil. Deadhead spent flower spikes to encourage continuous blooming. Grow blue salvia with similarly drought-tolerant plants.
18. Blue Anemone
Botanical Name: Anemone x hybrida
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Late summer to fall
Light Needs: Part sun to shade
These late summer flowering perennials produce pretty blue saucer-shaped single or double blossoms. The foliage has an attractive fern-like appearance. Grow blue anemones in organically rich, evenly moist soil and part sun to part shade garden areas.
19. Bachelor’s Button
Botanical Name: Centaurea cyanus
Plant Type: Annual
Bloom Time: Spring to summer
Light Needs: Full sun
Also known as cornflower, this old-fashioned annual remains a favorite for its vivid blue fringed flower petals. It blooms prolifically from late spring through summer and self-seeds freely. Bachelor’s button thrives in full sun and average soil with good drainage.
20. Asian Pigeonwings
Botanical Name: Clitoria ternatea
Plant Type: Annual vine
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Light Needs: Full sun to part sun
Their unique blossoms come in shades of white, pink, purple, yellow, and orange depending on the variety. Asian pigeonwings thrive with warm temperatures and high humidity, making them well-suited for USDA zones 10-11. Their nectar-rich flowers also attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
21. Delphinium
Botanical Name: Delphinium elatum
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Early to midsummer
Light Needs: Full sun to part sun
Delphiniums produce majestic spires of blue blossoms that add drama to gardens. Popular types include ‘Blue Bird,’ ‘Blue Jay,’ and ‘Blue Lace.’ Give delphiniums full sun to part shade and fertile, moist, well-drained soil. Stake tall varieties.
Choosing the Right Location
When selecting planting sites for blue flowering plants, it’s essential to consider each variety’s preferred light conditions and any other environmental factors needed for optimal growth. Most blue flowering plants need a site with full sun to part sun to encourage prolific blooming. Some blue flowers like bluebells and blue hostas thrive in part shade to full shade. Check the plant tag or plant description for the recommended amount of sunlight when choosing where to plant blue flowering beauties.
Also ensure the planting area has soil conditions suited to the needs of that plant. Some blue flowering plants like blue hydrangea and bluebells prefer rich, moist, acidic soil. Others like blue salvia need a site with average to sandy, dry, well-drained soil. Adding compost or other organic material at planting time can improve soil structure and nutrients. Group blue flowering plants with companion plants that share similar light and soil preferences for the best results.
Caring for Blue Flowering Plants
To keep blue flowering plants looking their best and blooming abundantly, provide proper care and maintenance throughout the season. Here are some key tips:
Watering
Most blue flowering plants need about 1 inch of water per week from rain or irrigation to thrive. Water thoroughly to moisten the entire root zone. Avoid wetting foliage to discourage disease. Reduce watering if soil remains soggy.
Fertilizing
Apply a balanced granular fertilizer or compost around blue flowering plants in early spring and again halfway through the growing season if needed. Always follow product label directions. Excess fertilizer can cause leggy, weak growth.
Pruning
Prune spent flower stems and any dead or damaged growth as needed to improve the plant’s shape and promote new flowering. Shrubs like blue hydrangea should be pruned immediately after flowering. Perennials can be cut back by about one-third after their first flush of blooms.
Pest Control
Watch for common garden pests like aphids, thrips, caterpillars, Japanese beetles, and more that can affect blue flowering plants. Use organic, non-toxic controls like insecticidal soap, neem oil, or horticultural oil applied according to product instructions. Pick off larger pests by hand.
Conclusion
Blue flowering plants add a sense of serenity and refreshment to gardens with their spectrum of blue hues. They come in diverse forms from groundcovers to climbing vines, with varied lighting needs to work in all locations. Incorporate several of these top blue bloomers this season to really make your landscape pop with color. With proper siting and care, you can enjoy these azure beauties in your garden for years to come.
FAQs
Which blue flowers are perennials?
Some popular blue perennial flowers include iris, salvia, gentian, blue fescue grass, blue hosta, blue plumbago, and delphinium.
What is the most popular blue flower?
Hydrangea and iris are likely the most popular and recognized blue flowering plants grown in gardens.
Where should I plant blue flowers?
Most blue flowering plants need a site with full sun to part sun to thrive. Some blue flowers like bluebells prefer part shade to full shade.
How do I get blue flowers?
For blue hydrangeas, amend soil to make it acidic. For other blue flowers, ensure the site has full sun exposure. Water and fertilize properly to promote vivid blooms.
What plants go well with blue flowers?
Blue flowering plants pair nicely with orange, red, and yellow blooms to create vivid color contrasts. They also complement whites, pinks, and purples.