Plant ID: Conoclinium coelestinum
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Conoclinium coelestinum is formerly known as Eupatorium coelestinum. This was due to a large breakup of the Eupatorium several years ago, and only proves that botany is an ever changing science. Commonly known as Mistflower - I’ve found that many people are unaware of this perennial and just how much beauty it provides to a garden. It is a shortish flower that blooms in late summer and into mid-fall. The flower is a purpuralish -blue atop a stem shooting out of a fairly leafy body. Small and compact, the blast of color at the end of the season is a welcomed arrival just when many perennials are starting to go dormant.
What to Know
C. coelestinum likes sun and some shade and makes it a fantastic accent planting throughout a garden as either a block or drift. We always like to install a minimum of five plants per spot so that the overall aesthetic is conspicuous enough to move the eye across the landscape. It is also a very social and mobile plant - meaning, it likes to group together with new plants and will pop up where it wasn’t originally planted. These attributes make for good lessons as a young gardener - you want to direct it and determine where it stays and where it is removed so that the overall look of your garden isn’t compromised. This takes a level of courage and will-power best developed with time spent in the dirt. The C. coelestinum is native-ish for most of the United States - with its endemic home most likely in the central United States. However, it can easily thrive in eastern states along the Atlantic. It easily grows in average, medium to wet, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It spreads by rhizomes and self-seeding. The leaves and the general shape of the plant’s body is enjoyable to witness throughout the seasons. Conoclinium coelestinum grows between 12 to 24 inches high - though, usually just in between those measurements. The flower is a violet, small, fluffy imitation of its distant cousin Eutrochium purpureum (better known as Joe Pie Weed). They were once the members of the same genus. It does have some winter interest but will get covered with snow and break under its weight. It is a solid April to November (and slightly into December) perennial. And as mentioned, as last explosion of color in fall, it is well worth the effort.
copyright: chambersdesign
general information
Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade
Soil: Average to Moist
Height: 12 to 24 inches
Spread: 30 to 36 inches
Hardiness Zone: 5 - 8
Bloom Time: Late Summer and Early Fall