Arkansas blue star is a native perennial grown for its fine, feathery texture and outstanding fall color. Its narrow, needle-like leaves line the stems like bottle brushes, yet they are soft as silk to the touch, and in fall the whole plant turns a glowing golden yellow.
In late spring and early summer, clusters of small, light blue, star-shaped flowers appear above the young foliage. After bloom the plant quickly fills out to about three feet tall and wide, forming a dense, shrub-like mass. It is long lived, low maintenance, deer resistant and rarely needs dividing.
What it looks like
Clusters 2 to 3 inches wide of small, pale sky blue, star-shaped flowers with five pointed petals at the tips of the stems in late spring. Leaves are very narrow, needle-like and bright green, densely lining upright to arching stems for a soft, feathery, ferny texture. The plant is a dense, rounded, shrub-like mass about 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. In fall the entire plant turns brilliant golden yellow to orange-gold.
Growing it with lavender
Arkansas blue star handles sun and leaner soil once established, and its feathery green texture sits well behind lavender in summer before turning gold in fall after lavender has finished.
Care
Grows in full sun to part shade in average to lean soil; water regularly the first year, after which it handles dry spells. Hardy in USDA zones 4-9. Cutting stems back to 6 to 8 inches after bloom gives a fuller, more compact plant; it seldom needs division.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Amsonia hubrichtii
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Flower color: Pale sky blue
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Foliage: Bright green, golden yellow in fall
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Growth habit: Dense, rounded, shrub-like mass
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Mature size: 36 in tall × 36 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
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Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
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Bloom start: Late-May
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Peak bloom: Early-June
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Bloom pattern: Single Flush
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
