amsonia jonesii

There are those plants that take some time get established and show their beauty, but after years of coddling, fussing and worrying, they come into their own, and it is all worth it. Amsonia jonesii has not shown to be one of those plants, at least not in my garden. 

Peak of bloom

If I were to encounter this plant in the wild, I would be delighted and charmed. And the photos on the web show lovely plants. But in my garden, so far at least, it lacks presence, contributing little to the garden.

April 25, 2020

April 11, 2020

Two plants were planted in my dry border 6/12/2017, four growing seasons ago. Planted in the hottest month of the year, I thought they had died, but to my surprise and delight, they returned the next year. Since then, the plants have become slightly larger each year, but did not bloom and did not exhibit the golden fall foliage that the amsonias are famous for.

Emerging in the spring

The plants have shown good drought tolerance, but not as shockingly drought tolerant as two other plants in my dry border: Penstemon linariodes, or Oenothera caespitosa. This year, after a particularly wet winter, is the first time they have bloomed. It's not clear to me if it is due to the wet winter or the developing maturity of the plants, but it is probably some of both.

The flowers are quite small, no more than a quarter of an inch across and are of a pale washed blue/purple in clusters. First bloom this year was April 6, and the last of the flowers are blooming today April 25, so almost 3 weeks of bloom. Charming? Yes. Garden presence? I'm sorry to say, no. Will I keep them? Well, I don't discard plants on a general basis unless they have shown some serious transgression of garden etiquette, so they will stay. I'll give them a bit of extra fertilizer and water this summer, and we will see how they perform this fall and next year.

April 25, 2020