Caryopteris clandonensis Stephi - Bluebeard

Caryopteris x clandonensis Stephi, also known as Caryopteris x clandonensis Stephi ('Lissteph'), has been awarded several times and is probably one of the best varieties of blue spireas with pink flowers. Its flowers are a very soft lilac pink and bloom until October. On the upper part of its branches, clusters composed of a multitude of small flowers sprinkled with stamens appear. The flowers are very popular with butterflies. Its deciduous foliage is slightly grey and is pleasantly aromatic when crushed. Relatively hardy in well-drained soil, it suits pot cultivation on a terrace, sunny flower beds, large rockeries or even small hedges.

Caryopteris x clandonensis Stephi, is one of the hybrids obtained by crossing Caryopteris incana, an Asian bush called 'Bluebeard', and the hardier Caryopteris mongolica, native to colder regions of Mongolia and northern China. They all belong to the Lamiaceae family.

Stephi was recently selected in the United Kingdom by Peter Catt from Forest Nurseries in Liss. The plant forms a bushy shrub averaging 75 cm (29.5 in) in height, with a slightly spreading habit. At maturity, it can reach a width of 90 cm (35.4 in) at its top. It blooms in the second half of summer and until the beginning of autumn. Its inflorescences appear on the upper half of the current year's branches. They are composed of countless small buds, pink in colour, grouped in large whorls or dense clusters arranged in a staggered manner. The buds open into small flowers of a very pale lilac pink, with prominent stamens. This flowering is particularly rich in nectar and attracts many colourful butterflies. The deciduous foliage consists of thin, triangular leaves, 3 cm to 5 cm (1.2 in to 2 in) long, with irregularly toothed edges, arranged oppositely on straight stems. The leaves have a green-grey colour, more or less silvery depending on the dryness of the soil and the heat. When crushed, they release an aroma with resinous notes.

Caryopteris x clandonensis Stephi is used in flower beds and low hedges, alongside other summer-flowering shrubs as undemanding as itself: Russian sages (Perovskia), shrubby potentillas, catmints, Ceratostigma griffithii, lavenders, dwarf buddleias, perennial or shrubby salvias. A very romantic scene can be created at the end of summer by combining it with shrubby lavateras ('Barnsley', 'Princesse de Ligne', 'Blue Bird'), shrubby artemisias, and asters. A group of 3 shrubs surrounding a pastel rose is a splendour in September, as their very different styles of flowering are perfectly complementary. It can also be planted in a beautiful pot on a terrace or balcony, in a sheltered position.