Bugloss (Anchusa capensis 'Blue Angel') is a short-lived perennial that brings luminous bright blue flowers to gardens from May through August. Native to South Africa's drier regions, this compact plant reaches just 12-18 inches tall, making it perfect for borders, containers, or rock gardens. It thrives in full sun across hardiness zones 3-10 and handles clay, dry, and rocky soils with remarkable ease, asking only for moderate water and moderate care in return.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-10
18in H x 15in W
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Moderate
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The flowers arrive in showy profusion, presenting themselves as excellent candidates for cutting and carrying indoors. This plant attracts butterflies reliably and tolerates the kind of poor, sandy, or clay soils that defeat other perennials. Shearing spent blooms triggers a second flush of color, extending the show well into late summer, while its half-hardy nature and ability to reseed itself means you'll likely see it return year after year.
Bugloss shines as a cut flower, bringing its brilliant blue blooms indoors for fresh arrangements. In the garden, it serves as a pollinator magnet, drawing butterflies throughout its long bloom season. Its tolerance for poor soils and dry conditions makes it valuable for naturalistic plantings, rock gardens, and low-maintenance borders where it can reseed and establish itself over time.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors in containers filled with moist seed-starting mix at germination temperatures between 60-75°F. Provide bright light once seedlings emerge.
Transplant hardened-off seedlings into the garden after the last frost date in your zone. Space plants 12-15 inches apart in full sun.
Direct sow seeds in spring or fall in your garden bed where you want them to grow.
Shear the entire plant back after the first flush of blooms fades to encourage branching, new growth, and a second round of flowering. This deadheading technique keeps plants compact and extends the display into late summer.
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“Anchusa capensis hails from the roadsides and disturbed areas of southern and central South Africa, where it evolved to thrive in drier, sandy soils. The plant's journey from wild African origin to garden staple reflects a broader horticultural appreciation for tough, colorful perennials that don't demand coddling. Its common names, summer forget-me-not and Cape forget-me-not, hint at its resemblance to beloved European wildflowers, a resemblance that won it space in gardens across temperate regions.”