I have Vernonia crinita Mammuth. It grows painfully slowly for me. If you mean Spigellia marilandica- it died in winter for me. I have also Kalimeris incisa Blue Star - of the 3 Kalimeris I have it is the shortest and least spectacular, but it still can be useful. Centaurea Black Sprite looks special on pictures, but in the garden the colour is practically invisible(partly because the flowers are very thin). It also applies to Centaurea Jordy(least running of all C.montana crosses)

Thank you for this 'real world' feedback wieslaw.

(And yes I did mean the Spigellia.)

I just discovered those new Baptisia online the other day. I would be very interested to see what that 'Dutch Chocolate' looks like in "real" pictures. Kind of hard to get an accurate idea of the color with the nursery stock photos...

I bought the Stachys monnieri 'Pink Cotton Candy' this fall at a great local plant sale, so can't comment on it yet. Hopefully next year I will have some good info to provide about it!
CMK

I have had the Vernonia crinita 'Mammuth' growing in part shade and somewhat dry soil for 3-4 years now and just love it. It grows quite tall and has huge, purple-pink flower heads in late summer/early fall. Maybe it takes a year or so to get established after transplanting. Very similar to our native New York Ironweed, Vernonia nov. belgii. I purchased the Buddleii 'Blue Chip' (not 'Ice Chip')on sale last fall. So far, I'm not impresssed as the flower heads are too short and dumpy looking. 'Blue Chip' has been around in the trade for a while, so 'Ice Chip' is likely a newer white version. If you really need a shorter butterfly bush, it might be okay.

If the only difference between 'Blue Chip' and 'Ice Chip' is the colour I will pass. I am embarrassed to say that I cannot get these miniature butterfly bushes to survive more than 2 winters in my moderate zone 5b climate. (It is likely due to less than ideal drainage but it shouldn't be this hard)

When do you cut back? if buddleia are cut back in the fall in z5, they will most likely die. Cut back in spring after new growth starts showing.

Nope gottagarden i.e. I did leave my miniature butterfly bushes alone until the spring. I am betting it is a drainage issue.

I will try again next year. I know that as a first step I should put it in the ground as soon as possible in the spring so as to give it the most amount of time to establish itself.

wieslaw wrote:

I have also Kalimeris incisa Blue Star - of the 3 Kalimeris I have it is the shortest and least spectacular,

And yet there are some glowing reports about this particular "Kalimeris" see this link:

wieslaw, which varieties of "Kalimeris" do you prefer?

Here is a link that might be useful: love Blue Star

rouge, I find Kalimeris incisa Madiva and Kalimeris mongolica Antonia more useful for my 'big bed' because they are taller and more stiff, thus fitting better with other tall perennials.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kalimeris mongolica Antonia

wieslaw - I see you live in Denmark (a maritime climate) which although a little milder than NE North America (mostly Continental climate), doesn't get the summer heat and light levels which may be a factor in their survival.

The appeal of Kalimeris BLUE STAR IS the fact that it is smaller.

rouge21 - re: Buddleia - gottagarden makes a very important point about cutting back. You MUST wait until AFTER it has begun to leaf out. If you cut it back too early then you'll lose it.

Note also that Centaurea montana 'Purple Heart' is likely the same as 'Amethyst in Snow'.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Valentine' is also on my list -- from what I have seen (pictures only), it is indeed special and a noticeable difference from the species.

dugald as I posted in this thread I believe it is a drainage issue for my lack of success.

Re: Buddleia "Ice Chip" - I have Lo and Behold Blue Chip, and while it is indeed dwarf, I find it lacks the charm of other cultivars; the flowers are rather short and stubby, not the long, graceful arcs of large cultivars. Just sayin'...

Let me correct my message to say "larger" cultivars - there are some great mid-size cultivars out now (4-6' range, not the gangly monsters) that have an elegance of flower; "Peacock" comes to mind, but there are many others.

Buddleia's need well drained soil and lots of sun. -I have Snowball (dwarf) and agree the blooms and impact of the dwarfs are disappointing. Spigellia is one of my favorite perennials (of many), slow growing, doesn't spread or reseed and blooms for a long period. Unique flower and RED in SHADE! Growing in my garden for 6 or 7 years, I added two more to make a more substantial display. I also have Kalimeris incisia Shogun. The flowers are so, so and barely blue at all. However, Shogun has nicely variegated foliage. It spreads fairly quickly but not invasive and does fine in mostly shade. Had ironweed, don't remember which one but got rid of it after 3 years. Grew well flowered fine but just not a long blooming striking plant. -Maybe your variety will be better.

gardencrazy wrote:

RED in SHADE!

That is good to hear but can you clarify as to how much shade your Spigellas experience?

I have Kalimeris Blue Star, by dividing they now number 50+. I do trim all season keeping at about 18" if not it will flop in rain. It's fabulous, covered head to toe with blue flowers from beginning of June to about 3rd week of Sept. No disease issues. Seems to like division about every 3 years to keep crown healthy. I've grown it now 10+ years in northern Illinois. Only bothered one year by a second invasion of sawfly larvae. It's like having an aster that blooms almost all season. Pat