Bluemink, far better known in US gardens as ageratum or flossflower, is the fuzzy blue bedding annual seen in summer borders and containers, with tight clusters of powder-puff flower heads. It comes from Mexico and Central America and has escaped from gardens in places, becoming naturalized in parts of the southern US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Garden types usually form soft, rounded mounds 6–12 in (15–30 cm) tall; wild plants can reach about 3 ft (1 m). Leaves are softly hairy on both sides.
- Leaves
- Opposite, toothed, about 1–3 in (3–7 cm) long, with a heart-shaped base.
- Flowers
- Small fluffy heads with no petal-like rays, packed in dense clusters at stem tips. Blue is most common; pink, purple, and white also occur.
- Flowering time
- Spring to frost (May–October in North Carolina).
- Fruit
- Tiny dark seeds about 1/12 in (2 mm) long, each tipped with five pale scales.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- garden beds
- containers
- roadsides
- waste ground
- Range
- Native to Mexico and Central America. In the US it is grown as a garden annual and has naturalized in parts of the South.
- Preferred conditions
- Wild plants turn up in disturbed places such as roadsides, vacant lots, and around homes.
- Flowering
Flowers May–Oct
Flowers May–Oct
Life cycle
- Seed dispersal
- The light seeds travel on wind and water and stick to animals, clothing, and vehicles.
Growing it
- Care
- A frost-tender annual for full sun to part shade, ideally in rich, moist, well-drained soil. Deer and rabbits seldom bother it.
- Toxicity
- Contains and is toxic to grazing animals, which can suffer liver damage.
Name and classification
- Varieties and forms
- Cultivars range from compact edging types to tall cut-flower types, in blue, lavender, pink, white, and raspberry-red.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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