The Blue Ice Bluestar, otherwise known as the Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ or Blue Star ‘Blue Ice’, Willow Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’, Blue Dogbane ‘Blue Ice’, Willow Blue Star ‘Blue Ice’, Eastern Bluestar ‘Blue Ice’, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its dark green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Blue Ice Bluestar Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Blue Ice Bluestar can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Blue Ice Bluestar prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Blue Ice Bluestar in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Blue Ice Bluestar will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Blue Ice Bluestar belongs to the Apocynaceae family, and the genus Amsonia, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ (am-SO-nee-uh).
As with other Amsonia’s, the Blue Ice Bluestar is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
You might be wondering why your Blue Ice Bluestar’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, and in climate zones that range between 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Blue Ice Bluestar is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Blue Ice Bluestar? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ can grow up to 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Blue Ice Bluestar a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 18″ – 24″ (45cm – 60cm) free so the Blue Ice Bluestar can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Blue Ice Bluestar is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Blue Ice Bluestar in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Blue Ice Bluestar is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
The Blue Ice Bluestar’s ideal soil potting mix is made out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Blue Ice Bluestar requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Blue Ice Bluestar will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), the summer (early), and during the fall.
Flowers
In particular, this perennial is well known for its long bloom season and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Blue Ice Bluestar produces some beautiful violet-blue, or blue and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Blue Ice Bluestar have a beautiful dark green color during most of the year.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Blue Ice Bluestar is well known for being able to attract butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for clay soil, and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Amsonia X ‘Blue Ice’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Blue Ice Bluestar? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Blue Ice Bluestar’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in small gardens, others use it for landscaping in a container, border, or a mass planting.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Blue Ice Bluestar, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
