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Mistflower has a flower color that is almost unique. The flowers of chicory and flossflower (Ageratum houstonianum) come close. Photographic film just doesn't get it, and so we use a digital image here. The color has been described as clear blue, powder blue, azure blue, bluish-purple, reddish-purple, blue-pinkish, and pink-purplish. I have always called it "sky-blue pink." A stand of mistflower in bloom will rock your eye balls! Mistflower is a herbaceous perennial which spreads by creeping rhizomes and covers the ground with a mat of opposite, wrinkled, coarsely toothed, triangular leaves 1-3 in (2.5-7.6 cm) long on short petioles. In autumn mistflower produces branched stems 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m) tall that bear dense, flat clusters, 2-4 in (5-10 cm) across, of irregular fuzzy flowerheads - 30-70 flowerheads per cluster. There are no ray flowers, only disk flowers, and it's their long stamens that cause the fuzzy appearance. A handful of cultivars have been selected. 'Wayside Form' is compact and only 15 in (38 cm) tall. 'Album' has white flowers - what's the point?
Location
Culture
Mistflower is best used in wildflower gardens where it may naturalize freely. It's great for use on the edges of ponds and water gardens. Mistflower is used in perennial borders, too, but it can become overplentiful if not kept under control. Better to keep it away from your favorite, less robust perennials. Mistflower can tolerate partial shade and is useful on the edges of the woodland garden. Grown in drier soils and partial shade, mistflower is not at all invasive. The unusual color makes mistflower a great additions to floral arrangements. Butterflies sip nectar from the flowers.
Features
Steve Christman 10/24/00; updated 10/6/03
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